P. AND T. OFFICERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 April 1922, Page 5

P. AND T. OFFICERS.

AFFILIATION WITH ALLIANCE, BUSINESS MEN’S VIEWS ; By Teleffraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. The decision of the P. and T. Officers’ Association to affiliate with the Alliance of Labor was the subject of discussion at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon r . t'o-day. ) The following resolution was passed: - “That the association or affiliation of p- any of our public service bodies with y sectional organisations such as the . Alliance of Labor would be subversive of good government and opposed to - public interest, and that the Governor ment be urged to take all possible steps t to oppose such affiliation.” The following amendment was re- . jected. Only the mover and seconder votl ing for it: “That a Chamber of Coms merce committee take the necessary 7 steps to interview representatives of the . P. and T. Department iin the Auckland r province and discuss tne matter before s passing so drastic a resolution as ask . ing the Government to .practically f dragoon thorn into reversing the course . they have pursued.” The mover of the amendment alone dissented from the . resolution. GOVERNMENT CALLED UPON TO ACT. At a meeting of the Council of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce yesterday, the following resolution was unanimously passed: “That this chamber views with grave concern the decision of the Post and Telegraph to join up with the Alliance of Labor, and calls upon the Government to at once refuse recognition of the affiliation. Further, that this chamber is prepared to heartily support the Government in whatever action it thinks necessary to protect the interests of the public in connection with this matter.” Copies of the resolution are to be forwarded to the Prime Minister and to J the Postmaster-Generkl. AND THE ALLIANCE OF LABOR. VIEWS OF THE PUBLIC. , (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, April 5. The one subject of discussion and ■ speculation in the city to-day is the , .result of the ballot of the Post and i Telegraph officers on the question of affiliating with the Alliance of Labor. 1 By an overwhelming majority, by : 4,379 votes to 1,973, they have decided to throw in their lot with the Labor 1 . organisation, the One Big Union, as it ■ is popularly' known, and the whole community is wondering what is going to happen next. The Postmaster Gen- 1 oral and his colleagues, the newspapers and a number of local organisations had urged every member of the Officers’ Association to record his vote, in the belief, apparently, that a majority of the members were opposed to Labor < entanglements and that safety lay in : numbers. But the issue has shown this ■ view to have been entirely incorrect. Of the 7.317 ballot papers distributed, . 6390 were returned, and these gave for affiliation a majority of 2,406 or 568 i in excess of the required three-fifths majority. These figures leave no doubt about the direction in which the weight of opinion among the employees of the Department lies.

THE PESSIMISTIC VIEW. The Dominion, which has strenuously opposed the affiliation proposal, this morning expresses the pessimistic view of the situation. “This means,” it says, after mentioning the result of the ballot, “that officers of this Department of the State who are entrusted with the confidence of the people generally in matt-era relating to the transmission of all postal and telegraphic communication have thrown in their lot with the watersiders, the seamen, the miners, and other militant Jjabor organisations, and have come under the sway of the movement known as the One Big Union. No longer will the public be in a position to regard the Post and Telegraph Service as something aloof and independent of outside influence. It would be absurd to pretend that the absolute confidence in the traditionary secrecy of the service will be maintained where matters affecting industrial interests are concerned.” This is the view of the matter taken by large numbers of business people, who see in the result of the ballot a disastrous blow to the general efficiency of the Department.

NOT REVOLUTIONARY. A member of the Officers’ Association, fairly high up in the Service, who took no part in the agitation for affiliation, but admits having recorded his vote with the majority, ridicules the idea that the Alliance of Labor is going to take charge of the Post and Telegraph Departments and corrupt the morals of its officers. The Officers’ Association still will have absolute control of its own affairs and the undertaking of individuals to preserve secrecy and good faith will be as jealously observed as it always has been. What has influenced the majority in coming to a decision in regard to affiliation with the Alliance of Labor, this authority says, is the indifference of Ministers and the official heads to the iterated and reiterated complaints of the Service concerning grievances that could be easily removed without any great cost to the State and with considerable advantage to the public. The Ministers had the excuse, such as it was, of ignorance, but the heaq's or Departments know and made no effective use of their knowledge. THE PUBLIC. While the business community looks with grave misgivings upon the association of the Public Service with militant Labor, the movement has many sympathisers among tile general public. Wellington is peculiarly situated in this respect. In addition to some 15,060 or 20,000 Civil Servants residing within its borders, there are thousands more of relatives and friends readv to resent reductions in salaries and' restrictions in privileges. The capital city is rarely well disposed towards the Government of the day, and Mr. Massey has managed to hold its goodwill longer and in a larger measure than have most of his predecessors. But lessened salaries, arbitrary retirements, and other drastic and highly . necessary measures have had their in- ( evitable effect, and it >s certain the , Government is not in such high favoi here as i£ was a year or two ago. This, notwithstanding, a conflict with the militant section, of the Civil Service just now probably would help rather than hinder the Prime Minister at the general election. Responsible people, ( disposed to coquet with the middle party, would take no risk were the peril of an extreme Labor victory .on