TO OWN AND CONTROL INDUSTRIES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 97, 18 January 1919, Page 7

TO OWN AND CONTROL INDUSTRIES

AIM OF A' SECTION OF -LABOUR. : _ By Telegraph—Press Association., . : ! . ;' '■- " Christchurch, January 17. At a meeting under the auspices of the ' -.Transport ' •'Workers , _ Advisory Board, railway men, watersiders, seamen, drivers,'and tramwnymfcii --.were represented. It was stated by Mr. J. Koberts, of the Waterside Worker's , ' Federation, that, the. objects .. of .the boiird'v-erb to organise all the- traiis,port -workers- into one federation... and uso that organisation for the. benefit of each unit; to get.an adequate return 1 to 1 : his-labour;• also to improve tho working conditions and shorten the' hours of labour. ■ They had all sections with the exception of the Jocojnotive engineers and tbo firemen, and it,- was believed that they would , afliliato within twelve months. There would'havo been serious industrial*dis.? pufos'.'.but of tho Transport Federation. It had been a means of getting several men reinstated aTtpr they had been ordered off the-wharves by the authorities. '" In connection with' the "recent Duuedin :tramway dispute the local union was. unable to effect a settlement;" but "on'the question in dispute being bunded over to the Transport Federation a settlement was arrived at. The only people to-day who appreciated tho Arbitration Court were, the employers, and the Transport Advisory Board, .had been sot up by the workers to take its place. No one section, of affiliated workers would be able to enter n dispute without consulting ,the others. . The Transport Advisory Board was out to stop ..the formation of further craft unions. Other .sections of iiuhistry were organised on craft lines, but the board asked them, to-group on industrial lines, in , order that they might bo able to form nil efficient' national labour organisatioii\jtliat can speak with no uncertain voice for the whole of the organised labour -.in .tho country. The objects it had in view for the future were to own and .control the industries.

Mr. Glover said that many {onus of organisation liiicl been adopted, and all had served their day. It was no uso trying to keep an organisation in existence when it iio longer expressed the desires of tho workers. They could not act by sentiment. One 'of their .objects' was to knock down the eighteen affiliated unions and register one waterside workers' union with a Loard in each port, the same as the A.S.R.S. Tho Transport Federation should be composed of all the workers in the particular, industry, namely, the vatorsido workers,' the railway men, tho seamen, tho tramway ineii, and the drivers. The minors and tho agricultural workers.should, link up with them, and form'the national council of Labour.