AUCKLAND LABOUR TROUBLES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1390, 16 March 1912, Page 6

AUCKLAND LABOUR TROUBLES.

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR. "100 ONE-SIDED A. PROPOSITION." Z Iliy Teleßrtph-Presf AaiooiatlonJ Auckland, March 15. In Epj.ikiag at the Chamber •of Commeico this aftornoon, to n meeting of friends and siipportors, who had mot for tho purpose of furthering his candidature for*'; the Mayoralty, Mr. C. J. JPnrr mado reference to tho present industrial trouble. Ho; said that he trusted thero would not strike, but if to avoid a strike tho City Council, local bodies, and other employers were required to abandon tho Arbitration Act, and mako arrangements outside the Act, then the position was one to which they could not accedo. As "Mayor, he had to look at tho matter broadly, not with a view altogether to tho'immediate- present, but witli a view to establishing, if possible,* some stability of general labour, which plays so importBiita part in tho city services. An agreement with the Federation of Labour did not guarantee any permanence. It could fto'/broken tho day after it was made. It seemed to him that that was altogether too one-sided a proposition. Tho local todies recognised thiSj nnd were therefore lighting to stand by the.Act. They wero ■utterly opposed to strikes or to their :ncn boing called out because of some out-side-dispute with which they had no concern whatoTor. The test safeguard against all this at tho present time was tho Arbitration Act. Any agreements they made, thorofore, must bo under, and not outside, tho Act. (Applause.) ; THE WATERSIDE WORKERS. - A BALLOT. Auckland, March 15: At a meeting of the Auckland Water- ' Bide Workers' Union, a resolution was carried that' a ballot be taken on the following question:—"Are you in favour of this union obeying flip mandate of .the Federation of Labour in the present industrial 'deadlock caused by the" attitude of the "Mayor *of Auckland towards tho General Labourers'"Union?" Members wero asked to answer "Yos" or "No"'to the abovo question, and the result was: "Yes" 273. '"No" 197. a majority of 76 in favour of obeying the federation. When the ballot was token regarding the,cancelling of tho union*? registration under the Arbitration lAct, in order to afiilinto with tho Federation/ the majority in favour of the federation'was 338. The ballot taken by the waterside workers was in tho nature of a test advocated by thos-o who voted against the of registration. Tho cancellation does not take effect' until next '■week. The Auckland Diiry Employees' Union unanimously passed a resolution condemning the action of the. "Mayor and councillors in refusing to receive a; deputation from, tho. representatives of tho General iLabourers' Union.' ; «BANG AUCKLAND'S HEAD." . INTENTIONS OF THE LABOUR ' FEDERATION. ' ', . Auckland, March 15. Mr.. Webb, president of the Federation of Labour, addressing a meeting of miners nt Huntly, said that the recent industrial event's .at Auckland meant that the employers had thrown dowil the gauntlet to the federation, hoping to draw them out in their present unorganised state, but the officials of the federation were not falling into this trap, but would pick the giuntlet up in good time, and bang Auckland's head with it. He had got the secretaries of all.the unions in Auckland not in the federation together, and the result,-was a unanimous decision to ftink all other issues and stand by tho federation and fight the master class. Hβ was going to "Wellington, Lyttolton, and Timaru to do the same thing. .They would link up labour in the Dominion, nnd then accept tho challenge given by the %mployers in Auckland. They would put , Up the finest fight in Australasia, and if defeated would go out fighting. Ho exhorted-the. miners-to stand;, by the federation,* as they would suffer. most in the event of defeat. Tho meeting passed n resolution resenting tho action of the Mayor and tho City Council in refusing to meet the federation delegates, and expressing ft preparedness to make common cause with tho federation. -