Split in Ranks of Labour

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 134, 23 June 1937, Page 9

Split in Ranks of Labour

— Presa AsSociation.)

RESULT OF RECENT LEGISLATION What Will Government Do? CAUSES OUTLINED

(By Telegraph-

PALMERSTON N., This Day. The highlight in an address to Palmerston North electors last evening by Mr. O. C. Ma'zengafb, of Wellington, j was a verbal probing of the causes | which, he said, had split Labour official- j dom into two warring factiona. He; said the" root cause was the Labour { Government 'a own industrial legisla- 1 fion and its probable repercussions on j the industrial and econoinic life of the | community were such that the publie. must sit up and take notice. lf the' Government did not mend the breach, ! the breach would smash tthe . Govern- ■ inent, but not before inestimable damage will have been done to trade and commerce. "Speaking broadly," said Mr. • Mazengarb, ' ' the dift'erence which has arisen in the ranks of Labour is between those big industrial unions which formerly belonged to the once powerful Pederation of Labour and the many craft unions which comprise the Trades and Labour Council. Put another way, there is a eleavage between the industrial unions which are organised nationally to pursue their demands through mass bargaining and those trades unions which have usually been willing to submit their case to, ,the judgment of the Arbitration Court. But there is this further comment that the Seamen's Union appears now to be making common cause with the skilled trades. Strikes as Weapons. "In order to get a proper grip of the situation one has to examine the history of trade nnionism during tlje past 40 years. Por the lirst 11 years after th© I.O. ^.and A. Act came into cperation there were no strikes in the colony; the very presence of the Arbitration Court assured industrial peace for the employer, for the employee and i'or the public. But having discovered that there were no penalties against striking, some of the militant unions used the strike as a weapon to force from the employer what the Court failed to award. In 1908, therefore, the Legislature was obliged to provide for the fining of unions and unionists who went on strike. Then it was that the bigger unions cancelled their reglstration under the I.C. and A. Act and formed tho Eederation of Labour. Prominent, among the officials of this federation were certain of the present Cabinet Ministers. A Split in the Alliance, "Throughout the whole period both before and after the war, the trades councils maintained .their separate identity, with headquarters at the trades halls. The industrial unionists, on the other hand, functioned first as the Federation and later (because that word was approbious) as the Alliance of Labour. But at the annual conference of the Alliance in April, 1930, that body ^ilit into two factions each with its own offices in Wellington and its own set of offieers and each claiming to be the national council of the Alliance. For want of a better name they were described in union circTes .as the Roberts-Johnson and Walsh-Glover parties. Troublesome Legislation. "A few weeks after that the Government secured the passage of its amending legislation. It sought to please all three sections of its supporters. But in the result it has set leader against leader and unjon against union. "The main legislative changes, two of which have caused all the bother, are these: —

' ' (1) The restoration of compulsory arbitration: In 1932 the Act had been amended so as to provide for compulsory conciliation and voluntary arbi tration. The trades councils protested because they were thereby virtually deprived of the privilege of going to the Court unless all the assessors in conciliation agreed to do so. The Alliance of Labour, however, at its conferences, passed resolutions as late as April, 1935, against restoring to the unions the right to go to the Court. The reason was obvious. While the smaller unions were deprived of access to the Court they could enforce their demands for better wages and conditions only by eoming in under 'the wing of the Alliance and many of them did so. It may be assumed that the opinion of the members of the Alliance unanimously expressed did not change completely xound in one year, and that this alteration in the law was a eoncession to the trades halls, while the Alliance officials had their tongues in theii cheeks, thinking of the other amendments. "(2) Tho provision for the registration of New Zealand or national unions. — Hitherto membership of unions retgisterod under the I.C. and A. Act was restricted to those residing in any one out of eight separate industrial districts. This separation into brancSies was somewhat of a barrier in the path of those industrial unions which wero organised nationally. The Government has met Ihe difficulty confronting these unions by providing that any society having at least 15 members in four separate industrial districts may be registered as a New Zealand union. The tradds councils now see that this provision has largely offsct the benehts they had lioped to reeoive from re3tored arbitration and in praetice it has already maru festcd inischief-making tcndencies "(3) The provisions for compulson

unionism and compulsory preference to unionists. — Prior to 1930 every worxer had an option as to whether he joined a union or not and preference to unionists where it was granted by the Court was quite inefEective to compel the employment only of unionists. But under the new legislation while any award or agreement is in existence relating to an industry it is unlawful for an employer to employ in that industry any person other than a member of the union. "Thus it comes about that nation -1 (unionism and compulsory membership have given certain people their chance. One of the first national unions to be organised 'and registered was the Har■bour Boards' Exnployees' Union, It | would not be proper for me," added 'Mr. Mazengarb, "to comment on the incorporation of this union because from the Press reports it would appear that legal proceedings have been taken by other nnions or societies or workers challenging its legality. But assuming (as I am bound to do) the validity of its registration the public of New Zefiland is vitally concerned in the possible effects on industry, on industrial costs, and on the cost of living. The public is doubtless somewhat puzzled' about the warfare of words being carried on between union officials when they appear in the Arbitration Court and before Conciliation Councils. It is not a jfight between employ ers and employees, 'but between union and union. j A Struggle for Mastery. ! " What is it all aboutf What is it leading to i It is a struggle for mastery 'between the leaders of the rival factions already referred to, a struggle in , which many hard things are being said concerning the motives and the.huge incomes of some Labdur bosses. Considor the case of the Harbour Boards ' Employees' Union. For many years past the boards have employed plumbers, painters, shipwrights, carpenters, . engineers, bfcilermakers and other tradesmen, all members of their . several : unions. But if the new union obtains' an award affepting these tradesmen, it' will be unlawful for any board toi employ people who are not members of the new union. This means depleting the membership of the unions to which the men had formerly belonged and is a nasty blow to the skilled unionists. It was the Labour Government 's legislation which brought about the trouble and the Government must find a way out. How the Public Pays. "Readers of the Press may be merely amused by the unedifying aspect of this squabble, but there is potentially a second grave peril to the community in the organisation of these big unions and federations of unions. The threat to strike (whether covert or not) whenever wages. and conditions are being discussed is always a terrifying menace to employers who find it pays better to concede demands and pass the extra cost on to the public. Suppose, for instance, the award rate for a carpenter be 2s 7d an hour. The Harbour Board Employees' Union might conceivably say to the boards 'pay carpenter members of our union 3s an hour or we will call all the members, of the uniou throughout New Zealand out on strike or institute go-slow tactics. ' What would the board do? Refuse the de.mands and risk complete para'lysis of "Uxport and import trade? Or concede the demands and immediately cause unrest among the members of the several jcarpenters' unions and other allied trades? "The craft unions now realise that increases in wages inevitably find a reflex in the eost of living and that they will be left badly behind if the big New Zealand unions are allowed to get their increases speedily by mass bargaining jrhile the smaller unions are obliged to await the sittings of an Arbitration Court which is always running late. In the struggle which they aua making to prevent 'racketeering' being instituted fbr arbitration they ought to receive the support of the National 'Party. Where Stands the Government? "Where does the Government stand in this matterf The Minister of Labour and at least three other Cabinet Ministers are thought to be in ifavour of the industrial unions, because they formerly belonged to them. Cau the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Can Ministers' of the Crowii, charged now with tho responsibility of preserving industrial peace, and oi keeping prices from soaring, oppose their friends of former days and prevent them from abusing- tho powers ss conveniently provided for them by rocent legislation!"