Prime Minister Denounces Group Dictatorship

Chronicle (Levin), 21 February 1948, Page 5

Prime Minister Denounces Group Dictatorship

• press Association)

(Per

WELLINGTON, Feb. 20. Commenting tonight on the (staleftient ptibfishi'd this moraing :that "if the ieaders of the earpen ters ' go-slow movement ai'e proseeuted, the New Zeaiand Federation of Labour will implement -,a pi'evioits resohition that pr'&seeu-. ; lions under the araendraent to the : Industrial. Coneiliation and Arbitration Aet will be the subjeet of protest meetings by worbers/' the Prime Minister, 2tlr. Fraser, said : "If the statement ean be taken 1 at its somewhat uneertain face vaiue, it is elearly an attempt to threaten the (Jovernment with the ul'ject of prevehting the proseeutions of those trade union Ieaders . or misleaders who are at |>resent instigating the open defianee and violation of law and thereby threatening alike' the industrialsystem,- and the very stabilify of uur eonntry. "The threat will prove fntile. The law will be enforeed to the limit that ordinary legal processes, inclnding relevant evidenee, will permit. The. Government, both the Gabinet and the Parliamentary Labonr Party, are unanimous in supporting the Minister of Labonr, Mr. McLagan, in his determination to see that the law is observed or, if hroken, that those responsible for instigating, organising or promoting goslow or strike, both of which are equivalent violations, shall be prosecuted tvhen there are grounds for prosecution.

COUNTRY HELD TO RANSOM "The Grovernment feels that this is the only course open ii the country is not to be continually held to ransom and dominated by a few persons holding, at least for the time! being, official positions in some trade unions. "Trade unionists are in no privileged position in respect to the observance of the law. They are just ordinary citizens and their organisations' are amenable to the country' s , irldustrial laws, n "N,o Goyernmenf has treated

trade unions mot*e; fairly or in a more friendly fashLon than the present New Zeaiand Government. , Their membership has inereased at least threefold since the Labonr Party eame into office but an essential condition of compulsory unionism and prei'erence for unionists under ' the Industrial Coneiliation and Arbitration Act, is a willingness to observe the la^v and to accept the Court 's or Trihunal 's decisions (as the case may be), whether palatable or not, and to use the proper ehannels for the reetification of any grievanee. " "Toleration of the present perverted action of go-slow tactics. will inevitably end in the selfinduced destruetion of compulsory unionism and preference to unionists and a serious. setbaek to all tradd unidiiists as wei'h.as to Com- . munist misled- groups. ^ " "In this connection it is timei that the trade unionists involveot in present demoralisingv go-slow, illegal methods, should realise that they are being used as mere pawns in a bigger game on a bigger fleldsthan they are aware of," Mr. Fraser continued. "Part oi Commuriist tactics in all countries is to stir up internal strife at the present time and they are endeavouring to do it in every democratic country where workers can be influenced to play their insidious game of conspiracy. > CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS "I do not believe that yesterday's decision of the council of the Federation of Labour is a true reflection of opinion and the atfitude of the federation as a whole. Up to the present the federation has always stood for the.retention of the Industrial Coneiliation and Arbitration system. The federation cannot both support and attaek the system at the same time. "The decision of the national council of the federation held in Wellington yesterday, provides for the calling of workers to hold protest meetings for the purpose of having Iegislation repealed," Mr. Fraser cdfttinued. "At the last annual c onference of the Federation of Labour, after I had expressed the Government -s determination to prevent individnals or sectional interests from holding up the country to ransom, a vote i: of full confidence in the Govern- 1 ment and' Minister. of Labour was

- ♦ , V . • • • v .. ■ • passed unanimously; Thev£rpvernment's attitude has not changpd. It adherres to its determi nation to prevent iildustrial .anarehy. . idie , Canterbury Trades Council appar- : ently has ' passed a resolntio'n 'utterly' condemnfng the instructions of the Minister of Labour to instrtute proeeedings; against those officials responsible for the operation of 'the go-slow . policy. J h aston to iriform the Canterbury Trades CouneiL and all others interested, that the insfruetion to. ' prosecute is the unanimous decision of the , Government and 1 ! must ask that my name and those of my colleagues be p'laced alottgsicle Mr. McLagan *s in'any fttture condemnatory resolution passed anywbere or by anyone. "The incluston in such-a resolution will be at once ah honour and a most notable record ' of. the Mihisters pleidged to mphold tihe law, doing' so without fear of favdur and thereby saving many thousands of trade unionists and people, generally from the folly, ! misery and disaster of attempted fntolerable individual or group dictatorship which, if successful, would destroy ordered society in our free and democratic country with its couditions .for people, as. a Whole,, second t0'= none on earth."