Labour Mission Leaves For Cook Islands

Chronicle (Levin), 3 August 1948, Page 3

Labour Mission Leaves For Cook Islands

WELLINGTON, August 2. For the purpose of investigating and reporting on working and economie conditions in the Cook Islands and at Niue, the secretary of the New- Zealand Federation of Labour (Mr. K. McL. Baxter) and the president of the Otago Trades Council (Mr. W. B. Richards) are leaving Wellington today for Auckland, where they will join the Maui Pomare. The mission will be a-bsent from New Zealand for possibly 23 days. The decision to send it was made by the Federalion of Labour a considerable time ago, when a eoutroversy developed between the Government and the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Union over reports of industrial unregt in the Islands, and, ordinarily, the investigators' report wouid have been made by now. llowever, the departure ot the invostigators was postponed because of the industrial issues which developed in Nfevv Zealand over the Mountpark dispute at the Port ot Auckland. So far as the posltion is known in Wellington, the Waterside Workers'' Union has not continued with its demand that its own representative should accompany Messrs Baxter and Richards. The union based the demand on tlie fact that Island waterfront workers wore conspicuously concerned iu the industrial uurest, and it norninated its national viee-president (Mr. A. II. Dreiman) as an investigator. Mr. Drennan has, however, since been appointed as a member of the Mountpark tribunal, which is continuing its liearings in Auckland, and there is soine reason to believe that, in the circuraKtauces, Ihe union will depend on the couclusions reaclied by the Federation of Labour uiission. Mr. Baxter previously visited the Lslands on a similar mission. In recent times, industrial yrganisation has advanced in the group, and the Cook Tslands Workers' Union is an affiliation of the Federation of Labour.