SLAVE LABOUR CHARGES

Chronicle (Levin), 8 March 1949, Page 5

SLAVE LABOUR CHARGES

(N.Z.P.A.-

—Reuter,

U.N. Approves World-wide Investigation

Copyri&ht)

Received Tuesday, 10.5 a.m. NEW. YORK, March 7. The United Nations today approved a request for a world-wide inquiry into slave labour. The proposal was submitted to the Economic and Social Council after the American Federation of Labour had charged that millions of Russians were suffering inhuman treatment in labour camps. The United States resolution did not mention Russia by name, but called on the International Labour Organisations to include the charges of the American Federation of Labour in its investigation. The vote on the inquiry was 14 to three, with Russia, White Russia and Foland voting against it. Soviet Rebuff Certain The Russian delegates left no doubt during the long debate on the issue that the. Soviet would rebuff any United Nations' efforts to investigate conditions behind the iron curtain. They contended that the inquiry was a United States scheme to get American intelligence agents into Russia. Poland denied that any slave labour existed in the Soviet Union. The Polish delegates contended that the only real slave labour in the world was in the capitalist countries. Russia charged that American workers were enslaved by the Taft-Hartley law.