LABOUR MACHINE AND THE WORKERS’ INTEREST.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2654, 3 November 1923, Page 4

LABOUR MACHINE AND THE WORKERS’ INTEREST.

DANGERS OF TOO MUCH SENTIMENT. There are serious dangers attaching to the attitude of mind which seeks to solve the industrial problems of to-dav by the unlimited application of what they deem good feeling. The difficulties to be met with cannot be settled by resort to sentimentalism. It is a question whether a lot of the loose sentiment that is indulged in does not actually do much harm even to those it is intended to benefit. A good many people, especially amongst the religious minded, think they are manifesting some particular virtue in talking benevolently of labour. It is lost-sight of that labour, after all, is just men and women who may be wrong just as often as right. Of course human labour should be treated justly and right but so also should all human beings whether classed,as labour or not. The sentimental adoration of labour in the abstract tends to create the habit of ignoring facts and relying wholly upon feeling. One fact that is not sufficiently attended to is that there arc two classes of labour in society to-day and that their aims and interests are by no means the same. Thei'e is the great mass of working operaatives engaged in production and distributon. Besides this body of actual workers there is an official and propagandist class which is called Labour, but which would be more fittingly named as the Socialist machine. In trying to settle issues with the veal workers it is often found that the official machine stands in the way. Employers and the general public are forced to deal with the machine rather than with the real workers who would consider industrial questions on their merits as affecting the industry and those engaged in it. What makes industrial settlement most difficult is that the Labour machine of officialism will consider matters only from the standpoint of socialist theories, fixed political dogma and assumption of necessary class warfare. In a sense, of course, ..class warfare is necessary for some of the individuals, for were it not fomented and maintained, their jobs, like Othello’s, would be gone. It simply cannot be denied that a certain class of agitator simply lives on the game of constantly stirring up trouble. The more dissension created the better it is for such individuals. Their efforts, at times, result in hundreds or thousands of genuine workers being out of work, their wives and families suffering, and themselves depending on charity for an existence. Yet it is the voice of the mischief-breeder that is heard as Labour.

What is wanted to-day above everythng, is sound common sense. The real workers do not want either sentimental talk or the rant of the mischief-breeder, he wants good trade and decent conditions of employment, not mere theories of po-litico-industrial revolution. That there is a natural movement towards closer relationship of partnership between capital and labour is evidenced in many directions. The call for a share of control in industry by the workers is not helped, however, when we find, official Labour wanting a share in control that it may be better able To drive (he other partner out. This is an instance where the machine is acting against the workers’ interests and is only one out of many that can be cited.

In the present coal mine dispute on the West Coast we have an example of how the Official Oligarchy of Labour can injure the great body of working miners. Nothing could be fairer than the proposal of the Minister of Labour, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, at the recent conference in Reefton. He strongly urged the miners delegates to put the proposal of the owners for the issue of a new Award to a ballot of members of Unions in order that the individual might know the position and express an opinion upon it. This recommendation was rejected—why? Here is official Labour completely in charge. It refuses, seemingly, to trust the actual workers whom it is supposed to represent — again why? It will have nothing but its own way. “Down with the Arbitration Court” it proclaims without the least consideration of what the abolition of the .Arbitration Act would mean to the many hundreds of men and women in small industries. It demands to name a Court of its- own, and a judge, in the person of the Conciliation Commissioner. When the whole facts are laid bare the truth stands out that; the motivation of official Labour in this instance is to force its political doctrine of the nalionalisaton of mines upon the public even if this entails damage to the whole mining industry. We read recently of steps being taken by one of the mining companies to provide better houses for their employees, and the next thing we found was a diatribe of abuse and misrepresentation of the same company in the journal of official Labour. What encouragement is there for progress? As we said at the commencement these problems cannot be dealt with by mere sentiment —the facts must be looked squarely-in the face. There is a red Labour abroad that is opposed to Labour,-it does not want industrial, peace; strife pays it better and its purpose is uot stability but industrial rebellion. The more concession that is given to this power, the greater its capacity for it frankly owns that it is out for the wliole and sole control. Good sentiments are right for the honest toiler and

the struggling employer, though much more than sentiment is requred to help these out of their troubles. Let us save wasting our sentiment on the Labour machine because it is there to exploit all sentiment and use all means to further its own political interests, no matter how much it may injure the real workers and the general public in the procetw. (Contributed by the N.Z, Welfare League).