PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 831, 1 June 1910, Page 5

PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS

A NEW PROPOSAL. I Tlio Hon. J. A. Millar, Minister for Labour, writing to the Christehurch General Labourers' Union, forecasted an amendment to the Arbitration Act, as a means oi enabling unions to overcome tho difficulty of collecting their members' subscriptions. Ho said :— "I have cone into the practicability of amending the Act in the direction of making provision for tlio attachment of workers' wages for tho collection of dues to unions, and.on full consideration of tho matter, I find that such procedure would bo found somewhat unwieldy, and moreover expensive to the unions. I am satislied that tho most satisfactory course will be to have provision made in tho Act restricting preference of employment to those members of unions who uro financial. As the Court has found that it has no power under the Act t'j limit preference in this ivtiy, I propose to insert a clause in tho amending Bill to be brought down this session, authorising the Court to do so. This provision will Ixs more effective- than the one you suggest." It is reported that the meeting considered this reply to its representations satisfactory.