. MOVEMENT AGAIN

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5305, 18 January 1947, Page 4

. MOVEMENT AGAIN

' |YEClSIONS reached this weekend in Britain and in New Zealand are a happy auguiT fdr the continuance of industrial peace at two terminals vitally affecting the marketing and distribution of food and other import|mt activities of trade. The strike of the transport workers in England and the seven-week restriction of normal hours on the New Zealand waterfront were both undertaken against the advice of official Labour and the men in both instances ' have agreed to resume on receiving certain guarantees. Thus, although hard words were exchanged and there was apparently some danger of ; the trouble extending and coni" j pletely knotting food distribu- ! tion in the United Kingdom, the ; disputes have been ended on an i encouraging note.

j As far as the watersider'V j demands are concerned, they i have been given guarantees by | the Prime Minister that could I not in reason have been rejected. I The Prime Minister's letter, in | effect, places the whole of the j disputed points relating to hours I and wages back into the hancls of the Commission and assurances are given that the improvement of . accommodation and other amenities, which is already well advaneed on the Auckland waterfront will be j completed as soon as possible. j It is assumed that in decidI ing to resume normal hours j of work on Monday, the Waterj side Workers' Union has accept- ! ed the points mentioned in the , Prime Minister's letter in prinj ciple and that the eonference on i Tuesday will be chiefiy for the i purpose formally of approving j the proposals. j While the public generally, | the Government and the Federai tion of Labour on the one hand j and the union, on the other j hand, are to be congratulated on j the happy optcome of the longI drawn-out discussions, one may i also here express that hope that j our economic life, with thought j especially for our internal transf port system, Will not be disj rupted again at this vital j juncturev , j Industrial relations in ' Aus- ! tralia, unfortunately, are going j from bad to worse. No less dis- ; turbing than the series of 1 sporadic strikes is the "lack of i zest and enthusiasm and an j almost universal disinclination | for steady work," noted recently i by thq Victorian Institute of | Public Affairs. The institute s proposes a national eonference I between employers and employees to try to agree 011 prin- | ciples which should govern I industrial policy and one pf the ! most vital questions proposed j for consideration is that of j industrial incentives and discip- ! line under conditions of full em- | ployment. - It is remarked that i under the existing system, it does not - pay the worker to attempt to improve his position. The wages of skilled men have . advaneed much less proportionately than' the wages paid for ■ unskilled labour and what remain of the special rewards of arduous training and responsibility are taxed out of existence.