THE WRONG TURNING.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 March 1921, Page 10

THE WRONG TURNING.

WHERE THE POLITICIANS WENT ASTRAY. INJUSTICE OF COMPL LSORY UNIONISM. (Contributed by the N.Z. Welfare League.) Much of the industrial trouble we have to deal with must be laid at the door of the opportunist politicians, who in order to flatter the workers and secure votes, gave to the labor unions a privilege and authority they are not in justice entitled to. The Liberal Party in the first instance, passed into law an act which authorised the Arbitration Court to grant preference of employment to the members of industrial unions of workers. By establishing that rule the politicians virtually made union membership compulsory, as it could not be expected that any would remain outside of the union of their occupation when non membership entails refusal of* employment, in other words, the means of livelihood. It may be argued that compulsory unionism is but the logical corollary of compulsory arbitration as, if a court is to arbitrate for all engaged in an industry, it must deal with all employees, and it being impracticable to act for each individually, the union must represent the whole. The provision, however, goes beyond the point of affirming that the union shall represent the labor side of the industry affected. By granting the special privilege of preference of employment •to members of the union, the court is allowed to decide whom the employer shall employ, and that is more than arbitration on the terms and conditions of employment. This granting oc an exclusive right to certain individual citizens over others would have been lessened in its inherent injustice if the legislators had clearly and specifically limited the functions of the unions to dealing with the industrial issues, which the court may in case of conflict determine. We know that has never been done. Every political party down to the present has followed the line of least resistance, ignored fundamental principles, and sought to “stand in sweet” with the workers by adhering to procedure that has really made the mass of operatives slaves to a machine. The unions from being bodies established to conserve the interests of their members in matters arising out of their occupation have become, in addition, organisations dealing generally with economic and social affairs on a class basis, and centres of political propaganda and party activity. The injustice of the “preference clause” has now assumed this virulent form that individual workers are compelled against their convictions, or without consideration of such, to pay into and obey the decisions of what forms part of a political party. We contend that it is utterly unjust and indeed a form of oppression that any individual citizen should be coerced into supporting a particular party on pain of being deprived of his or her means of livelihood. We are not opposing Trades Unionism. The right of workers to form unions and protect their own interests we uphold. At the same time we maintain that- the individual workers should have a right to earn his livelihood without being compelled to support a movement or political party he does not believe in. Let the political party that is drawing its sustenance from a legally forced source of income, come under control of men imbued with ideas of dictatorship, and our politicians will then have set the stage and provided the properties for a play of tyranny having very disastrous results. Here is an individual worker who does not believe in the propaganda the union of his occupation is taking part in, its leaders’ methods and policy and its political affiliation he is opposed to. In spite of this opposition on his part by the law of this country, by the judgment of the court and by the necessity of keeping himself and his family, he is compelled to support these things. Where is the justice of it. There are men in the Trades Unions, unionists by conviction, who recognise the injustice of this compulsion. We have heard it argued by these men who are not unionists on principle, and who use the unions for ulterior purposes.

Though we have little time for the man who lets his fellows bear the burden and takes no responsibility, we contend that other 1 methods can be found of requiring all in an industry to pay their share of its regulation other than the crude, unjust and tyranical method of compelling individuals to support beliefs, propaganda and party political action which, are utterly opposed to their convictions. Compulsory unionism, especially as it is being ijow manipulated, is an attack on the free rights of citizenship whicn ought no longer to be tolerated in a democratic country.