P. & T. “SOVIET.”

Hokitika Guardian, 1 September 1924, Page 4

P. & T. “SOVIET.”

MINISTER'S CHITICISAL UNDER 1-IUE. ALLIANCE OF LABOR CONTROVERSY. WELLINGTON, Aug. 29. , ‘‘What is the reason for the extraordinary searemoiigeriiig manifested hv the Rosmaster-Gonoral towards members of his department who attempt to improve their conditions ” asked Air Lee. Auckland East, in the House to-day.when the Host and Tclcgoaph Department estimates were under consideration.

Air Lee said lie was rotorring to a .statement in the Postmaster-General's annual report, a paragraph of which has been published ill various newspapers, placarding members as disloyalists who believed in sonic sort of Soviet organisation. Was a man in the Host and Telegraph Department disloyal because his political opinions did not happen to coincide with those nf t.ie Government of the day. I hat seemed to lie the position. Was the Reformer loyal, the Liberal half-loval and the Labour Party man disloyal 'i Was a worker in the department to he counted disloyal because lie wanted to improve his wages and conditions.' All Lee hoped the Postmaster-General would moderate his attitude, fur Ins recent outburst- was a had tall Horn

grace. Air Harry, Auckland Central, also protested that the Hostlliasler-General had given the whole service all Mncleserved rebuke. He had produced an almost petty report, which disclosed a verv narrow viewpoint.. A\ hat was the idea!' Was it for the purpose of paving tlie way t.) victimisation ol certain men in the service.' Tt looked very like it. If the Alinistcr was aware of certain men in the dopaitmenl doing sonii'lhing cL'trinioutal to the dep ill Mienl it, was his plain dutv not to make such a. statement Hut to dispense with their services. Air Willord : They ought to lie sacked right away. Afr Parry: That would have been the iiiext manly t.hine to do, instead of making an allegation against file whole service. ’•

The member for Auckland Central added that lie understood the Post-master-General had also i ’sued an ultimatum staling that temporary men must not heroine' members ol the Host and Telegraph Officers’ Association. He did not consider it good that temporary employee's on hourly wages should I" linked up with officers on yearly salaries. At the same time there was no reason why temporary employees should not form themselves into a union or association ol their own. Afr Hartram: Are they of different Mesh and blood ? Air Coates: No. but their whole aspirations are diMrrcnt. I have asked the association not to allow temporary c'liiolovec'S to join them. Mi Masters: Hove they considered it ?

Mr Coates: They are considering it. The .Minister added that the' icforenc;' to disloyalty was in relation lo the- Department. There was a section of the Department that immediately hived off when there 1 was industrial trouble and endeavoured to lend nli tin'll- comrades into cliMicuUies. by allying themselves with the organisation that proposed to hold up llie services.

j A Labour member: Why do you call tln-in disloyalists!' Is Mr Coates: They are disloyalists to h the Department. They arc- not standle ing un to it as they should. 1 do not I know, and do not care, what their imo lilies arc', hut. if they want to have a good Government I advise them lo follow the present one. (Laughter). Afr Holland: Do not lead them o- , astray. II •• Mr C-.iii ter c om luded by saying that u ’ i!ie attempt to join the Federation of i- Labour was a mistake, to which lie and t!ie Cabinet were* opno.-ecL Mr Hartram said the Host AfasterI L'lieral's amende wus remarkable, and was akin to making two classes, say. of c arpent ers, simply heen use- cun' set was temporarily working on liuild- •' ings. Mr I’artram submitted that- ,! some' temporary linesmen on low wages le liihl everything in common with peril manent workers on low wages who u were cruder the thumb of the Alinistcr, Il very largely because lie could Use the whip of the .superannuation scheme against them. I All Isitt. congratulated the PoslII Master General oil having liaekhone, L plm-k and del. Tininutiou enough to say in licit his lirst duly was to society, and e that- In- would not imperil tin* whole' ,j social position. Air Atninre declared that lie could ~ see no reason for a storm about the paragraph, seeing that in the same report llie .Minister gave almost universal praise to II.!!.:■) employee's of the <• Department, and singled out only a 1- few who were disloyal. II a vote of tier- people of the Dominion were taken there would lie an overwduilming verdict against any outside hcid.v eon-1 trolling any State Department, aiulj . that was what the paragraph meant. It related to the- Alliance of Labour, u llie li in his opinion, did not follow 11 const it til ioual methods.