LABOUR AND THE PUBLIC

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 245, 10 July 1920, Page 8

LABOUR AND THE PUBLIC

__—_+_ .WHAT DOES THE UNION CARE! (Contributed by the N.Z. Welfare League.) We have reached a; fine state of affairs in New Zealand. When an election ia on the public is appealed to, and the cry. goes round "vote Labour," but when the elections are over the public can "go hang" as far as some of the Labour bodies are concerned. How lens the publio is going to stand that sort of thing remains to be seen. The league holds that there are three parties concerned in tho industrial <>t»te of affairs—employer, employees, and the third party, the general party. A little while ago Mr. J. Arbuckle, secretary of the Miners' Federation, in reply, to us, wrote:—"There is no third party." • That is the. attitude. of these men. The public does not count until they want something out of it. As for as' considering its rights they simply refuse to recognise its existence. As giving point to the above remarks we draw attention to what occurred on ''Saturday last. The Gas Company reported that their coal stocks wruld be completely used up by Monday morning, and in the event of the T-eather being then too wet to work a coal ship, which was Teady for discharge, the company would have no option but to cut off the •supply of gas on Monday. In that state of emergency, which vitally affected the public, the Coal Trade Committee did everything possible to induce the waterside, workers to discharge the coal on Sunday, but met with no six cess. It appears that the Waterside Workers' linion laid down a rule that no csrgo should ; be- worked on Sundays. As a general principle we recognise that no work on Sundays is right, but to ignore the special needs of the people, ui der abnormal conditions, is to place self first and everybody else just nowhere. Had the weather been too wet on Monday then the gas supply must have been cut oft', arid that wonld have entailed serioushardship'on the thousands of'people whose only means of cooking at present is by tho use of gas. Thanks to the weather clerk, Monday being a fine day, the peoplo escaped for this tima the great inconvenience. No thanks ore due to the watersiders. The action of the union in making a rule so rigid that no exceptional circumstances, or special needs of the public, shall bo taken into consideration reminds us of a professedly pious individual who was indolent as well v ... The man-believed so strongly in keeping the Sabbath that when Lis wife was ill he would not carry in a bucket of coal on Sunday becauso his conscience forbade him to do any work on that day. •„ This incident is only one out of many on tho part of certain sections of Labour where the publio needs are treated,as of no importance. This does not apply to the majority of workers; nor does it apply to all wharf men. It is the new unionism of the brand of syndicalism that is responsible. By this form of unionism the workers are being taught the. utterly selfish doctrine of "our own will above everything and our self-interest the only rule to go by." Yet the men who preach "and practise this doctrine have the effrontery to nm to the public on,many occasions for 'financial, assistance for a hearing when they cannot get what they want out of their employers, for votes and help in various ways. ' Verily the publio i 9 long sufferWhon a dispute is on only the immediate employers and' workers are recognised, although thoso outside may have to pay most; The' third party only oomes- into being when either of the other parties want Its assistance, and then It is the "dear publio," at other times it ia treated very cheaply indeed.