FUTURE OF INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 February 1921, Page 4

FUTURE OF INDUSTRY.

“WORKERS MUST OWN IT.”

ALLIANCE OF LABOR’S OBJECTIVE.' ULTIMATE AIMS REVEALED. There was a good attendance of unionists at the Workers’ Hall, New Plymouth, last night, when an address was given by -Mr. L. Glover (President of the Waterside Workers’ Federation), on the organisation and aims of the New Zealand Alliance of Labor. Mtf. W H. Fitzherbert presided. In the course of his address, Mr. Glover said that after a study of union* ism, he, with other Labor leaders, had come to the conclusion that there should be an organisation by means of which the unionists could express themselves nationally. He reminded his hearers that there a day when unionism had not been in vogue, and reviewed the history of the movement.

The constitution of the Alliance of Labor, Mr. Glover said, would give workers an opportunity of belonging to the one national organisation, by means of which they could take national action, if the occasion arose. He was of opinion that they should aim for something better than the wages system, and the Alliance of Labor had set down as its objective that workers in industry must own a<id operate the industry in the interests of the whole of the comHe cited the examples of guild socialism in vogue in ' England, and said that there was a scheme in view in New Zealand for co-operative stevedoring of boats, by Which the workers would load and discharge the ships direct without any middleman He remarked that the wealth produced in New Zealand in 1914 was thirty millions and the wages paid out only amounted to five millions. A greater proportion was due to the workers who produced the wealth. He did not see anything wrong with this, because there was some place in the industry for every useful person, and he or she would have a voice in the running of that industry. t The speaker dealt at length with the organisation of the alliance. He said there was air opposition movement called the New Zealand Workers’ Union, the idea of this body being one big union of workers. He thought, however, that the alliance was the best plan.

Tn reply to n question, the speaker said the alliance council had no set political action. A Mnioniet who wanted to support a movement in this direction could do so by joining other organisations. At the conclusion of the address a vote of thanks was accorded Mr. Giover.