"NO CONFIDENCE."

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 10, 13 January 1926, Page 12

"NO CONFIDENCE."

ARBITRATION COURT. ATTITUDE OF TRADES COUNCIL FEDERATION. j ~~~ \ Although unions will not be called upon j for some little time yet to decide who ! shall act as their representative on the j Arbitration Court, the coming election is i causing considerable interest in Labour ! circles, and the prospects of possible can- I didates are being keenly discussed. An i indication that unions are not at all I unanimous on the subject has already { been given, the New Zealand Trades and J Labour Councils' Federation having nor- ! mated Mr. A. L. Monteith for the position of workers' representative, and in a j circular issued to-day the federation ! gives its reasons for desiring a change in j the personnel of the Court. "As the important positions of workers' representative and deputy-rep--resentative on the Court of Arbitration j will shortly be before your union, the \ National Executive has given this matter j very serious consideration and has i decided to forward a recommendation to i all unions in New Zealand," states the circular. "We believe that these positions call for a knowledge of industrial law, together with lability and firmness, and while possessing these an even greater essential is the need for plain speaking when occasion demands. In our own interests, we must secure men whd have these essential characteristics for the positions, because we believe such men will carry most weight. "All unions should remember that, until three months ago, the basic wa<*e ; was £3 16/1 (1/9 per hour), and awards have actually-been made for male adult workers for less than these rates; also, many unions have experienced the magnificent increase of one farthing per hour. The farthing increase; generally speaking, has been until quite recently the' Court's attitude towards the skilled trades. Also, we are fully aware that the last pronouncement is very indefinite, and the rent question regarding increases has been anything but satisfactory dealt with. We are of the opinion that the voice of the workers' representative has not been exercised sufficiently and could have been heard more dis-~ tinctly when such awards and- pronouncements -were made, and unions cannot afford to place themselves in the position of recording a vote of confidence in the record of the Court during the last three years by again electing the present personnel it would be certain to be taken as a vote of confidence in the past policy by the majority of the Court, therefore we feel unions cannot afford to vote confidence in view of the Couct's past record." • -