BIG DECISIONS PENDING

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5300, 13 January 1947, Page 5

BIG DECISIONS PENDING

(Press Assn.-

dairy' workers may strike thursday

-By Telegraph — Copyright.)

WELLINGTON, Last Night. Leaders of the Government will confer on Tuesday with representatives of almost every trade union in New Zealand on the critical issue of co-operation between the industrial and political Labour movements. This, rather than any new move to settle the. waterfront dispute, is the real sigrificance of the deeision of the national executive of the Federation of Labour to suminon delegates from all its affiliated unions to an extraordinary conference in Wellington for January 21. As many as 200 union leaders are expected ■ to attend the conference. They will represent an aggregate union membership of about 200, 000 workers. The waterfront dispute will naturally have a prominent place in the minds, and probably also in the discussions of the delegates. But its importance will be as a test case of union and Government relationships rather than as a specific problem to be solved. It is because the Government is still holding open this avenue towards a peaceful settlement of the dispute that it has staye'd its hand meanwhile from making any more drastic move to get the ports working normally again. It accepts the fact that it cannot expect a satisfactory final answer to its . offer to reopen negotiations until the watersiders thoroughly review their attitude at next weelc's meeting. But if the union's attitude remains one of defiance, the Government is now known to be ready with further immediate action to restore normal activity in the ports. So well guarded are its proposals that no hint of their nature has been allowed to leak out.