PROTECTION FOR FREE WORKERS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1888, 24 October 1913, Page 8

PROTECTION FOR FREE WORKERS.

Sir,— As an employer of .labour I am i pleased at the stand taken by the Union Steam Ship Company and the New Zealand Shipping Company in tho present strike. Wo have been for some time under hands of our employees as regards to our labour iaws. AVo (tho employers) mako an agreemont with tho employees, and if it does not suit the employees several months after they I will not abide by it. If it carao to a secret ballot I do not think w-a ■ should havo the numbor of strikes we . have had this, last' few years. Another ' thing, hundreds of-married men belonging to the Waterside Workers' Union nre only too willing to work, and did , so on Wednesday, but were cnlled out bv the hundreds that were hanging i around calling them "scabs," etc., which t happened on the Railway Wharf at the i s.s. Wairuna. In the 1890 strike tho 1 Wellington Harbour Board barricaded ' the entrance to the wharf to prevent ' free labourers being jeered at whilst ! working. To-day tho Harbour Board ! lifivo oil tho entrances to wharves guard- ] ed by, iron 6 at e®' My. elwt f

gates and stop agitators from tormenting mon who want to work, and allow no personJon wharves unless on business ? Tilso, why should the Wellington Harbour Board provide rooms for tho men and their agitators to hold their meetings in? We wait -to boo what Mr. Fletcher, as chairman of tlio Harbour Board, will do in this matter.—l am, EMPLOYER. A TIME FOR ACTION. Sir',—The latest doings of the Waterside Workers certainly provide food for thought. They go farther than that, and provide a cause for action. The arrogance of these men is' astounding, and if the various employing agents concerned in tho troublo do not stand out against the uncontrollable element', they in time will be tho top-dog, and then— welt, God only help those underneath 1 If these wharf lumpers Were single men, with no dependents, then they would receive such a blow that their reasonwould Gut no! They liavo wives and children, and however much we would wish to teach tho men a lesson, tho public must not forget those at home, who, for.no fault of their own, are mado to bear the ill-effects of a strike. Again, one does not know who■flior to blame the executive for leading tho men on or to find fault with the latter for bohaving like so many sheep. But whoever is to blame is not worthy of tho name of man. What is the use of an agreement when it is ignored? What is the uso of arbitration when sfrlko_ methods are preferred P In fact, what is the use of honesty and straightforwardness—when lies are so easily told, and deceit so easy to|practise. This is strong language, but the facts justify it. Those people have been treated as men in the past, but their present' conduct is such that if there aro any real oien left it behoves them to form- a now union and shake from off their boots the mud of tho present irresponsibl.es. One does not know whether to pity or abuse them. The former is the better course to take, as they are so possessed with their share of the latter commodity that to take action would not only be a waste of time on our part, but would also not add to our dignity. It is true that they call their opponents "blacklegs," "scabs," etc., but this is only a boomerang which in time wili return to the throwers. But this one fact is patent to all (tho Union Company especially, who have risen our fares when wages wero increased) that these men must be put in their place. These individuals not only think that "Jack is as good as his master," but they think he is a great" deal better. However, when those who break agreements learn to become honest, and we know their word can b'o relied upon, then we can ;treat them as -men, but this last action of theirs only makes them'appear blacker than over, and no decent man or newspaper would give them the least encouragement, as tliqjr actions warrant the condemnation that they have brought upon themselves.—l am, etc., WALTER E. HALL.