BANGED BILL ON TABLE

Chronicle (Levin), 12 September 1947, Page 4

BANGED BILL ON TABLE

• Presp Assoeiation)

Fiery Speech 0n Strike Ballot Issue

(P:i

WELLINGTON, Sept.-: 11. " The imious will go baeh to-.the old liardships *i±* they insist on the stup'id actions which mahe- this stupid MU necessary, ' ' said' Monv T. Bloodworth in the Legislative Councii today, when ddscussing the Industrial Conciliatiom and Arbitration Amendment Bil. "It the B-ilJ was. not im such. a big boolwl would treat it as a Member treated the Budget in another place," said Mr. Bloodworth as- he banged the Bill on to. his.table. He ■ was proud of what the militauts: had done in times gone by, he said, but he suggested that the Bill shouid not be necessary today. Trade unions came into being when their members had toQght and they did fight, M5?--Bloodworth said. Bome of the old slogans had been carried on nntil the present day when conditions were entirely different. "Unless trade unions, both here and in Great Britain recognise the conditions of the times- and the fact that they have Governments in power that g'ive them best conditions, them those unions will wander for 40 years in the deserf of capitalism," he continued. The reason for the present trouble was Lhat thousands listened to ancieto phrases which some of the leaderS attempted to appiy to conditions of the present day. On the subjeet of the seeret ballot provisions of the Bill, Mr. •Bloodworth asked if they would apply to all unions or only to unions registered under the I.C. and A. Act, If it did not apply to all unions he wished to know why . it did not. Some of the most miliv tant unions today were registered under other acts. He also suggested that the ballot shouid apply to all forms of stopping work or interfering Avith work such as stop-work meetings, g'oing slow and lockouts, and said he wondered how the hallot terms of the Bill could possibly apply . to those cases. "I don't think there is any need to pass this Bill," he said. The discussion on it had been of great er value in educating the peoi)le on the need for indusrtrial peaee than the Bill would he in keeping the industrial peaee. ITon. W. Grounds- questioned whether the Bill was adequate to rleal with the trouble it envisas'edl FTe cons'dered1 flint the Bill haid failed to give a lea.d. It. seemed- to resort to a kind of subterfuge and he eould not see that it was not being an accessory to the brealring of the law althoneh it was only assisting to deterinime whether the law shouid be hroken. Any suggestion of a- right to strike and disorganise ihe whole country was exeerable. said Mr. Grounds. The only people who received henehit from a strike were those linton officials who sat twiddling theiir thumhs in the middle of a disaster thev themsfdvos had caused. Hqii. J. T. Paul said a ballot might prevent some strikes. The country had arrived - at a stat'e where it must e]iminate str'kes and stopnages of Atork" generally. Tlie Bill was still under discussion when ihe eonneil ad.iourned.