"JUSTIFIES INQUIRY"

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 65, 9 December 1937, Page 3

"JUSTIFIES INQUIRY"

-Presa Aaaocistion )

Serious View Adopted By Members INCREASING COSTS

(By Telegraph-

.WELLINGTON, Last Night. After objectioiis by tbe Prime Minister and the Minister of Education had been overruled, the House of Representatives this afternoon discussed the hold-up on the Auckland waterfront, the discussion being based npon a motion for adjournment moved by Mr W- J- Polson. In the course of the debate Mr Polson drew att.ention to the losses suffered through 24 vessels being beld in idleness at the wharves. He wanted to know who " governed the country, the Trades and Labour Conneil or the members on the Labour bencHes in Parliament. The Minister of Labour appealed to unions for co-operation in combating the dangers of industrial strif e. All that the Governmenf asked for wias that employer and employee play the game. Those workers refusing to accept decisions of the Court or their leaders he described as betrayers o£ the trade union movement. "When Mr Poison moved for the adjournment a lengtEy" discussion arosa on a point of order moved by the Minister of Education, the Hon. P. Praser, Who stid that now no question of ; urgenny existed/ as the Qrspute rl'eerred to had been settled. | 1 Bt. Hon. J. Gv Coates asked if the ■ position would be much altered as a result of .the settlement of the Auckland dispute. The whole question of j transport of our produce overseas was ; concerned and that at all times was ! a matter of urgent . public coneern. | The Prime Minister, Hon. M. J. . Savage, drew attention to the faet that . Mr. Polson 's motxon applied only to the position at Auckland and not to the rest of the Dominion. The Auckland fiispiute did not exist now and the privilege required in Mr. Polson 'a motion for an adjournment of the Eouse applied only to urgent questions iuch as might arise, say, from a declaration of war, etc., but if the House tould discuss under such a motion questions, say, relating to banking or industrial business, the Government of the country would soon be in a chaotic itate and they would never be able to get any business done by the House at all. . The debate on the point of order was eontinued by Mr, W. A. Bodkin, the A.ttorney-General (Hon. H. G. E. Mason), Hon. W. E, Parry, Messrs. > Broadfoot, Smith and Endean, the ! latter stating he would get a better run " in the Supreme Court than in .the House. The Speaker, Hon. W. E. Earnard, . calletl liim to .order and asked hlm to > b'tate what he meant in his statement. Was it a reflection on the chair or the House? On the Speaker '3 xequest, Mr. Endean withdrew the remark. The Speaker, giving a ruling on the ; point of order raised by Hon. P. Praser, i said he was placed in a position of considerable difiiculty but he felt he would pot be'justified at present in ruling that Mr. Polson 's motion should not proceed. In reply to a request by Mr. Praser, ' he also ruled that the scope of the de- | bate.on the motion must be limited to j A.uckland and not cover the entire posiI tion on the waterfront throughout the whole of the Dominion. Investigation Sought. Mr. Polson, speaking to his motion, said the question was a very serious one. A demand had been made by the primary proaucers for an investigation into the question of hold-ups on the waterfront but it had not been complied with. Such delays caused the hold-up of the shipment of primary produce with consequent loss to the producer. The trouble in Auckland was a culmination of many acts throughout New Zealand which had tonded to raise waterfront costs. Auckland was the worst port in New Zealand as far as they were concerned. They were double the costs in Australian ports. In giving his Teason for his action, Mr. Polson said 2i vessels were lying idle and the loss on the shipping companies was causing a further burden on the community. The dismissal of employees of carrying firms owing to inability to obtain goods from the shipS' sides, and the dislocation of business by reason of the holdup of goods urgentlv required for the Christmas and New Year trade, had also to bo taken into consideration. There was the serious possibility that such occurrences would occasiou the disorganisation of the conveyance of primary products for the world 's markets. Mr. Polson mentioned that the hold-up in wool shipments meant the rejection of further consignments owing to wool store accommodation being overtaxed. Delays in shipment of dairy produce, frozen mutton and lamb, and chilled and frozen beef, would result iu heavy losses to the producers. All the freezing space in Auckland was becoming rapidly congested to such an extent that goods might soon have to be refused storage by dairy factories and freezing works. He 3tressed the necessity for an immediate inquiry into the cireumstances leading to the hold-up in the waterfront work. The agreement under which work was xarried out on the waterfront, was made by a committee on which there was equal representation of employer an.d employee. It had the full forcq of

Arbitration for holding up the work in Auckland beyond the loss of wages they would have received had the vessels been worked. The Government, he declared, had not settled the strike but had handed over negotiations to Mr. J. E. Koberts, president of the New Zealand Labour Pederation. Mr. Polson said he wanted to know who was to govern the country, the Trades and Labour Council or members on the Labour benches of Parliament. He added that all that he wanted was to keep the industry running smoothly and fair play. There had been no fair play on the waterfront : at Auckland in the past few days. The Government should take the job in hand and, by asserting its authority, establish permanent peace. Minister 's Assurance The Minister of Labour, Hon. H. T. Armstrong, assured the House that the Government was anxious to maintain industrial peace and would follow constitutional means to achieve it. It believed arrangements between employers and employees should be faithfully kept and it was the business of his department to see they were kept. He then outlined the history of the dispute at Auckland and said that as autm a* the Government had been noufied of what waa taking place, it took .every possible etep to bring the parfles together. There had been a lot of talk about losses suffered by farmers and merchants as a result of the action of the men, but in effect the actual delay, caused to shipping only lasted three or, four h-ours. .Wet weather during ihe' remainder of the time of the dispute would have prevented the loading of the ships in any case. Mr. Armstrong said he was not/ attempting to justify the action of the men. He had never been an advocate of strikes when there Was a reasonable chance of settling disputes through fair and constitutionaJ procedure, and there was less justifica- ! tion for stoppages of work in New Zealand because of our industrial laws than in any other part of the world, ' Men "Who Wouldn't Play Fair ,The Minister then criticised ,the actions of sections of the workers who were not prepared to- accept .the decisions of the Court or of their leaders, but • who were constantly causing trouble in industry. . These men were betrayers of the trade union movement and they should be expelled from the organisations 'in which they had been given the privilege and benefit of mem- ! bership. They were not playing the game with the Government and with i.keir fellow unionists in other parts of, the country, and their actions. werfe designed to wreck .trades unionism. He took a serious view of the position and appealed to the unions for co-operation iu combating a danger. All the Govsrnment asked. for iu the interests of industrial peace ,and benefit of the country and .trades union movement was for employer and employee to play the game by each other and by the State. The Minister of Education, Hon. P. Praser, said the .dispute had been settled i with moro expedition than any similar dispute; mainly because of the promptitude of the Government and Minister of Labour. Wholesale condemnation of the men on the Auckland waterfront | was not justified. If any sec'tion of men ! were responsible, it was that section j that refused to take up work on Priday evening. Hon. J, G. Coates said it was unforj tunate the hold-up had occurred and I now it was over the minds of the people l were exercised as to the future. He, | stressed the increases in the cost ofj j waterfront^work and said the hold-up i had been a serious matter for both the : producing and business community. Government Won't Run Away. The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, said the Opposition's claims had been mostly political and to blame the shipping companies or waterside workers was not to solve tbe problem. They had to clean np the position and there should be intelligence enough among them to see that things worked more smoothly in future. The Government was not going to run away from its responsibilities in the matter. Mr. W. A. Bodkin contended that a serious aspect of the matter was that the union had stood four square behind the men who had defaulted and there could be no solution of the problem until . there was a showdown between the watersiders and the Government. The Minister of Mines, Hon. P. C. Wcbb, said that if the dispute had lasted any longer, further action would have been taken and those responsible brougkt to book. The Minister of Finance, Hon. W. Nash, said he lioped some better agreement would be reached between the shipowners and watersiders in future^ so that both parties would co-operate tci see that ships were loaded and got away at tho proper time. It was au imnortant matter for 'the Government because the Government was now a large shipper of produce. He considered there was justification for an inquiry and hoped information would be secured that would enable them to rexnove the difliculties that had caused the trouble. The debate was interrupted by the adjournment at 5.30.