THE CONFERENCE OF BOTH SIDES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1893, 30 October 1913, Page 9

THE CONFERENCE OF BOTH SIDES.

GENEROUS PROPOSALS. CAST OVERBOARD BY STRIKERS. • That the employers have dono thoir best to effect a settlement of the trouble was made clear by a statement made to a reporter on their behalf by •Mr. N. M'Robie last evening., Mr. M'Robio dealt with events following on the proposal of tho Prime Minister that the .parties to the dispute should meet in his presence, and endeavour to como to some settlement. He ha'd been' authorised, ho said, by the executive, of which he is secretary, to make a. public statement. Mr. Massey took steps to bring about a conference between tho parties last week, and tho parties met in conference on Tuesday evening, !Mr. Massey presiding. Employers' Proposals; At this conference the representatives of the shipowners brought down the following proposals for a settlement: — That the employers adhere to tho terms of tho resolution passed 011 Saturday, October 25, as follows: "That thoy could not seo their way to re- • sumo work under the lato agreement, but that tliey aro agreeable, if the men resume work and form a- fresh organisation, to entor into an agreement for a term, on the basis of the wages now being paid, .without any material alterations of the agreement under which the men have been working, the agreement to be registered under the 111- ' dustrial Conciliation and ' Arbitration Act, in order to secure a definite guaranteo that tho terms _ of tho agreement bo carried out faithfully. 3 That in the event of failure to secure a settlement -under tho> foregoing resolution, tho authorises tlio dolegatcs to resuscitate the late agreement nndor athe I.C. and A. Act for a ncriod of three years. [That the delegates be authorised to extend tho present agreement for a period of three years from date, to cover the whole Dominion, with a ■ - penalty of £1000' for, ..stoppage.of |' work as defined by Clause 28 of tlio late agreement. - ... delegates bp authorised to extend the- late- agreement... for a poriod of three years from date, to applv to Wellington only, with a penalty of : £500 for stoppago of work as defined by Clause 28 of the late agreement. . • Clause 28 of tho agreement, which was rofcrrcd to sovcinil times in. the above agreement, and which concerned watersido workers at Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, Timaru, Nelson, and Patea, reads as follows: —"The essence of this agreement being that the work of the employers shall always proceed in tho customary manner, and shall not on any account whatsoever bo impeded, it is agreed that if any dispute or. difference shall arise. between the parties bound by this agreement,or any ot them, whether as to its .construction, or meaning, or as to any other matter whatsoever arising out of, or in connection therewith, every such dispute or difference, as the same shall arise, shall bo referred to a committee, to bo composed of three representatives of the union at the port concerned, and three representatives •■ of thq employers, for their decision. Tho decision of the majority of tho committee shall 00 binding, and if no decision is arrived at, tlio committeo shall submit the point in dispute to some independent person to 1 be chosen by it, and if his decision is not acceptable'to both-parties then the matter shall ho referred, for further negotiation, to tlie New Zealand federation of Labour, and tho employer or employers concerned. The ■ above-men-tioned local committees shall also deal with tho various matters specifically referred to them by this agreement. .

The Union's,- Attitude. With regard to tho first of the employers' proposals, Mr. M'Robie said that it was carrying out tho resolution adopted bv the shipowners on October 25, to tho effect that the employers wero prepared to resume work under the lato agreement, but that they would treat only with a new organisation, 'and that any agreement arrived at was to bo registered under the industrial ' Conciliation and Arbitration Act. It was only natural that when this proposition was put before tho watersido workers, they would Hot entertain tho idea. When they were asked what tliey were prepared to do to bring about a settlement, the one and only offer mado by .them during the whole conforenee, "was- for reinstateincut unconditionally, and for a revival of the late agreement. Theemployers could not sco their way to entertain the suggestion, as there was no guarantee. beyond tho verbal statement of tho workers' representatives that it would bo carried out in its entirety. With regard to tlio second proposal he said that thp. effect of it was that tliev were prepared to renew the agreemenb under tho Arbitration • Act for thrco years, and thoy would waivo thoir desire for formation of new organisation, and thus recognise tho Federation of Labour. This proposition was also "turned down, but still 110 suggestion for a solution camo from tho othor side. To show that tho omployers wero earnest in thoir desire to arrive at a settlement they mado an offer to forego tho registering of tho agreement under the Act, and, further, were prepared to rccogniso the Federation of Labour, provided that tho present agreement with tho AVaterside Workers' Union, which would havo terminated in tho ordinary course in January next, should bo renewed from date for a period of three years; but the employers must insist on a penalty of £1000 for stoppago of work, as defined by Clauso 2$ of tho agreement. He wished it to bo made perfectly clear that this penalty, together with any other mentioned in the proposals should also ho payable by the shipowners, should work ho stopped through. their default. Tho # matter was thus perfectly fair to both sides ; The representatives of the watersiutiis said that they had no authority to mako arrangements for an agreement operating in other centres. In view of tnis, the employers went a stop further, and wero agreeable that tho 6amo # , tions should ™ award - cl '

lington, as provided in the previous suggestion, witli a penalty of £500 for stoppage of work. It would be seen by tho foregoing, said. Mr. M'liobie, that the employers had done their utmost to arrive at a solution of this unfortunate trouble, and that it was very evident that the representatives of tlio union had 110 desire to heal tlm breach. In addition to the proposals which they had been authorised to mako, tho employers' representatives had gono even further, and had said that if tho workers had any objections, the Arbitration Court, His Honour Mr. Justico Williams should bo asked to act as arbitrator. The End of It, At tho conclusion of the conference on Tuesday evening, Jlr. M'Robio continued, it was understood • that the fourth suggestion given by tlio employers was mogt acceptable to tho representatives of the men, and that this question would bo put to a meeting of tlio watcrsidcrs yesterday morning. During the morning the employers received intimation that tho matter liad been discussed by tho men, and that tlio following resolution had been passed:—"That this union, not having tho power to make a sectional" agreement for Wellington alone, as proposed by tho employers, decides to inform tho employers that we will only accept tho present national agreement in its entirety until January 31! Any other action' would be traitorous to our copartners in tho national agreement." . When tho representatives of the workers conveyed tho terms of the resolution to tho chairman of tho local Employers' Executivo (Mr. W. A. Kennedy), tho chairman thought there might possibly he some misunderstanding as to tho actual interpretation of tho fourth proposal mado by tho cm-, ployors regarding stoppago of work. In order to give the watersiders overy opportunity to discuss the matter, ho clearly stated that the penalty would apply only to cessation of work as defined in Clause 28, thinking that perhaps members of tho union had interpreted it that the penalt- might apply to any other breach of tho agreement, which .was never intended by tho employers. During tho afternoon the emD- ;ers were assured that the position been again discussed by tho union, and thoy assumed that the proposal had been lakl fairly before tho. men. Tho following resolution was carried at the men's afternoon meeting, and was transmitted verbally to Mr. Kennedy at 3.30 p.m.:— "Tho men want the agreement reinstated without any guaranteo ■ as to cessation of 'work, especially in view of- tlio agreement being a national one. They aro of the opinion that- if any such condition is ' put into the agreement it should bo considered and discussed when tho new national agreement comes forward next year. Such a proposition, if agreed to, would then apply to all parts of New Zealand. Respecting tho position of the appointment of Mr. Justice Williams to bo arbitrator, tho men are of tho opinion' that there is nothing to arbitrate, except the one point w'liether tho agreoment shall bo reinstated or otherwise." Untruths of the. Union. Regarding the bulletin issued by the union, Mr. M'Robio said that it was full of misrepresentations. The statement that the exploiters—by whom ho understood wore meant tho employers liad torn up tho agreement, was absolutely untrue: Thq employers had been willing to reviow tho agreement, but they did want a guarantee that its conditions would bo carried out.

Must Have Free Labour. In conclusion, Mr. M'llobie said: "I want to say . definitely; that'the wliolo position has beon reviewed calmly by tho employers, and tlioir . resolutions 'have been arrived at only. after very careful consideration. Wo trust that the saner section of the waterside workers will realise that the employers are determined to see this matter through : that if wiser counsels do not prevail within tlio next few days they can rest assured that steps will bo taken to have tho goods handled on tlio wharves. Already offers are coming in from t"o country, and to-morrow the Farmers' Unions at Ekctaliuna and Masterton, and the provincial executive at Palmorston North, will meet to discuss the desirability of supplying men to work cargo on tho wharves. ■ "Tho omployers recognise that this matter is one of national importance, becauso it affects tlio whole of the in-, dustries of New Zealand, and they are determined, whether tho watersiders come out in every port or not, the Federation of Labour is not to bo recognised in any further agreement. Steps will bo taken in each of tlie centres to havo tho wharves manned by free labourers. Whatever happens, the goods will be shipped.. That wo have determined upon." _ , Possible Meeting To-day. Tho meeting on Tuesday evening at which delegates from tho Waterside •Workers' Union conferred with representatives of tho Harbour Board and of the shipping companies adjourned on tho understanding that it should reassemble yesterday after the delegates had . conferred with their constituent bodies. This second meeting did not take place. • ~ j , The Prime Minister, who presided at .tho conference, on being interviewed ilast evening,, stated that yesterday's developments had put an end to tho conference for the time being, but that ho ■hoped that tho representatives of the respectivo parties would again meet today. ■ -