DISTINCT STEP FORWARD

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 118, 21 May 1928, Page 5

DISTINCT STEP FORWARD

INDUSTRIAL UNDERSTANDING FURTHER DISCUSSIONS SUGGESTED. DISAGREEMENT NOT FINAL. DELEGATES' OPINIONS. The opinion in some quarters that the recent industrial conference held at Wellington had been a failure, because it did not reach complete agreement on all matters, is not held by Mr. T. Bloodworth, who returned to Auckland yesterday.

Mr. Bloodworth said he noticed that some people seemed to regard the conference as a failure, because it did not reach complete agreement on all matters, and because it had not brought about immediate results. He said that in his opinion the conference had been a success, and it had reached a far greater degree of agreement than he had expected. He would remind critics that it was a conference, not a Parliament. It could only make recommendations; it could not pass laws. He

would also remind critics that it was not a trade union conference or a conference of the Employers' Federation, but it was a joint conference of those two parties, with several other very important interests joined in. He did not think anyone wanted agreement just for the sake of

being able to say we had agreed. "We all wanted to reach agreement, it is true," said Mr. Bloodworth, "but neither side desired to force acceptance of their views on the other side, and this was not attempted. Each side tried to convince the other, but having so far failed to do that, well, we simply said we had failed to reach agreement."

Principles Involved. "I may add that the Special Committee, of which I was chairman, finished its deliberations very late on the evening before the final session of the conference commenced. At that time the workers' proposals for amendments to the Arbitration Act had been before the Special Committee some days, but the employers' proposals, in the form they were presented to conference, had not been before the Special Committee at all, though of course the principles had been discussed by the committee several times. This position could not have been avoided by the employers, or by our side, because there was a caucus meeting of either side held on Tuesday, in order to ascertain from the general body of delegates on either side how far their seven delegates on the Special Committee might go with respect to the principle of optional or compulsory reference of disputes to the Court of Arbitration. And when the committee reassembled in the evening, and it was found that each side in the committee had definite limits set to its powers in this respect, we did not then discuss details further. When the employers' proposals were presented to conference, we found that in details the differences between us were not very great, and I think if the committee had had another discussion on them further agreement would have resulted, though the fundamental difference would have remained."

Further Meeting Suggested. "It was not possible, however, for the committee to have that further discussion then, but if after the matter has been more fully discussed by the parties concerned, and by the general public, the Government think that further good could be done by calling together again the special committee, I feel sure the members of it would be quite willing to meet, for everyone of us was sorry at our seeming failure, though I think we all recognised it was due to a fundamental principle on which neither 6ide could give way until there had been an opportunity for an understanding of the position to be arrived at by the great body of parties vitally interested who were outside the conference, though represented by delegates at it."

Mr. Bloodworth said that he considered the recommendations on which the conference had been unanimous represented a considerable advance towards better relations in industry, and that they fully justified the conference having been held. Conference Justified.

"Even if nothing else comes out of the conference, the suggestions made relative to unemployment, immigration and workers' compensation justified it being held," said Mr. J. Purtell, president of the Auckland branch of the Alliance of Labour and one of the delegates at the conference, in discussing various aspects of the industrial situation this morning. "Further, I would say that the workers have a better grip of some of the farmers' problems, although the case put forward by the latter in regard to what they termed restrictive legislation, and their claims to hardship, was not borne out by evidence. As a matter of fact scarcely any of the industrial legislation of New Zealand applies to the farming section. The dairy factory awards cannot be said to hinder them in any way as the hours are abnormally long and the wages are small." Touching on the much debated subject of compulsory and optional arbitration, Mr. Purtell said the latter system

could still be tried by the employers and the workers who desire to settle their disputes in this manner. "X think. I ought to mention," he added, "that the evidence of at least three of the professors was definitely in favour of the workers. It was particularly to in regard to the Arbitration Act, which it was contended had practically no influence on the depression that exists throughout the country." In conclusion Mr. Purtell paid a tribute to Professor Belshaw for his exhaustive paper on general aspects of the industrial situation. The paper, he considered, re/ fleeted a lot of preparation and research. Better Understanding Established. Professor H. Belshaw considered the most valuable result of the conference had been the better understanding established between employer and employee. The last day of the conference had been remarkable in this respect. Speaking of the divided opinion on the optional and compulsory arbitration issue, the professor pointed out that the real trouble did not lie between capital and labour, but was created by variance of opinion between internal sections of both of these parties. He believed that conferences such as the one that had just concluded could be of very great value if held at intervals.