Untitled

Hokitika Guardian, 4 June 1918, Page 2

A.wriniJ! pointer to the new era is tho second report of the Whitely Committee . lately published at Home which marKs ' a second mile stone on the road to industrial solf-Government Other problems affecting tho relations between employers and employed will have to he dealt? with, hut the present report deals with the methods which'it is thought should be adopted by industries wlrioli do not possess fully representativo trade associations. The net cast by the first-.re-port- in regard to industrial socialism was a very wide one, the Committee being of opinion that- even state-nnd municipal authorities and persons employed by them should he roped in. but there ary varying degrees of organisation in different industries, and the machinery for tho institution of industrial councils cannot apply to all in the same way. It is held that most of the chief industries of the country could be brought- under one or other of the schemes sot forth in the two reports. There would then be broadly two classes of industries in tho country —industries with Industrial Councils and industries with Trade Boards. Tn the former group the National Industrial Councils would bo constituted either in the manner indicated in the first report, carrying with them disj triet councils and works committees or ( on the lines suggested. in the presentreport—i.o., each council coming within the scope of the report having associated with it one or two official representatives to act- in an advisory capacity and as a link with the Government in -'addition to the representatives of tho employers and employed. Before leavi ing the report it should be made clear that Government assistance in the imperfectly organised industries is not- proposed by the Committee as an alternative to the organisation of employers and employed. The idea.- is simply to foster the growth and development of S,uch organisation. . Where there is a absence of organisation the Committee believe that- n larger measure of Government assistance will be both desirable and acceptable, and they have therefore suggested in some cases the adoption of the machinery of the Trade Boards Act; In a word, it is bold that State assistance should vary inversely with the degree of organisation in industries. -