ATTACK ON GOVERNMENT

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 95, 22 April 1924, Page 7

ATTACK ON GOVERNMENT

MAKING POLITICAL CAPITAL. ANTI-STRIKE PSYCHOLOGY. APPEAL TO PARLIAMENT. LABOUR CONFERENCE DECLARATION. (By Telegraph.—l'ress Association.) DUNEDIX, this day. The following declaration, in ttie form of a resolution, was passed by the annual conference of the New Zealand labour party, now sitting at Dunedin: — 'This conference of the New Zealand ' Labour party, having considered the iicilwaymeiTs case and the efforts made by Labour members of .Parliament to avert the crisis, appeals to all the people of New Zealand to study' the facts which have led up to the present situation. Fifteen months ago, in February, 1923, the railwaymen, in conference, arranged to interview the Government, with a view to the readjustment of their wages on the 1912 basis. On several occasions they approached the Minister of Railways by letter and in person, but not until early in the present year had they received any kind of response to their request. On March 24 a. Wages Board was established. The purpose of this board was to consider the railwaymen's case. That case is as follows:— "In 1912 wages in the railway service were 9/ per day, this amount being based on the 1911 cost of living figures. In September, 191.">, the Arbitration Court, in considering the ease of the Painters' Union, decided that an increase of lid per hour, or 0/ per week, was necessary to bring the wages at that period to equal the purchasing power with an award granted in April, 1912. A similar increase was granted to the carpenters and joiners, and the greater amount of 7/ per week was given to unskilled workers, so that to bring the 9/ per day which the railwaymen were granted early in 1912 to equal'the purchasing power in July, 1914, at least 10/ per day >vas required. Just Before the War. "Note what happened. Negotiations were actually in progress at the time between the Government and the railwaymen. The railway men, in view ol the" judgments of the Arbitration Court had au unanswerable case. The wai broke out, and the men immediately did what no other group of workers wen asked to do. They decided to withdraw [their claims on the understanding thai the Government would take steps to pro vent the cost of living from rising. The people of the Dominion will realise th< self-sacrifice entailed by this decision Now, here in. 1924, at the first meeting o( the Wages Board, the railwaymen's re presentatives asked that their wages b< brought up to at least the equivalent ol the 1914 standard. This 1914 standarc was 10/ per day, or £3 per week. Th< evidence given by the Department etatec the cost of living figures, as compared with 1914, showed.an increase of 64 pei cent. This entitles the railway men t< £4 18/5 per week. This means thai goods which cost £2 14/ in 1912, and £; in 1914, to-day are costing £4 18/5. Th< railwaymen ask for an increasa of 2/< per day, which would bring their wagei to £4 14/10. In other words they askec for 3/7 less thau they were entitled to ai shown by the Government representa tives at the Wages Board inquiry. - Case Was So Urgent. "The railwaymen's case was so urgenl as far as wages were concerned that thej informed the board that if wages wen considered first they were willing to droj all.the other questions in dispute. This offer was refused. The Government do manded that the men should go back t< a 48-hour week, and offered to pay ordi nary Tatcs for the extra four hours. Nc compensation was offered as far ai the cost of living increase was concerned; there was no thought of the self-sacrifice of the railwaymen in the 1914 crisis What arc the reasons behind all this? Ir 1921. the Government, with the avoweci object of reducing wages, dismissed hun dreds of .men from the Public Works Department that were engaged on urgent public works, the completion of whicr had been delayed during the war period They then re-engaged these men to d( the same work at relief work rates ivhich were 4/ to 6/ a day below the Arbi tration Court award rates in 1922. , Thej followed this up by passing two Acts ol Parliament, one of which reduced the wages of.public servants, and the othei instructed the Arbitration Court, b> general order, to reduce the wages oi every worker. "All wages are to-day far below the 1914 standard. Just one example—skillet workers, carpenters and joiners, arc today being paid 43 per cent only on the 1914 wage, whereas the cost-of-livin{ figures are to-day 64 per cent in excess ol 1914. Other workers are not as wel off. "The attack now commenced on hours The Labour party recognises that the public service of the Dominion must be well and efficiently conducted. This is a. first essential in the public sen-ice ir the real sense of an efficient service inlcrently dependent on efficient workers. II the cares of meeting the daily household bill is always harassing: the wives of the Dominion, the effect will be reflected or the men of the service. We are satisfied that the Government did not wish tc settle the dispute, that they wish tc make political capital out of an industrial conflict, and all the distress . and lislpcation occasioned thereby. The; ,iope on an anti-strike, psychology appeal to the electors, wiin a view to "holding on to office. The Labour,party believes that every. elector of the Dominion desires that public servants shall be paid a living wage, that their conditions shall be such that they can 'render . efficient service. . We therefore appeal to the people, of the Dominion to support the demands of the Parliamentary Laboui party that Parliament shall be convened at once to deal with the situation. We settled if Parliament is immediately are confident that the matter will be "convened." . : ''♦ • • ■