PRINTERS' MARCH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 206, 1 September 1936, Page 8

PRINTERS' MARCH.

CITY DEMONSTRATION.

RESOLUTIONS OF PROTEST.

MINISTER'S CRITICISM.

(By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, this day

Reminiscent of the days when unemployed demonstrations provided lively mornings for Parliamentarians, ovei 500 printers marched from the Trades Hall this morning to the front steps of Parliament, accompanying their representatives who carried resolutions, adopted at a stopwork meeting, expressing lack of confidence in the ability of the judge of the Arbitration Court, to determine the hours which shall be worked in the printing industry, and consequently having no confidence in the Court, and calling upon the national executive of the Printers' Federation to withdraw the present dispute from Conciliation and from the Court.

Another resolution requested the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, to arrange a conference between the employers and employees for the purpose of bringing wages and conditions in the industry into line with the largest number of secondary industries of the Dominion.

Minister Interviewed. The Minister was interviewed by Mr. C. H. Chapman, Labour member for Wellington North, who is president of the Wellington Union, accompanied by the secretary and vice-president.

A large crowd awaited the result of the conference for half an hour, but had quietly dispersed to work before it was over.

The deputation reported that the Minister had undertaken to arrange the desired conference.

In an interview following the demonstration the Minister declared that the resolution of no confidence in the Arbitration Court was "cliildish v "

"It is a wonder," he continued, "that they did not think of that before they submitted their case to the court. So far as I am concerned, as Minister of Labour, I' am an old-time industrial unionist, with a pretty wide experience, and I can term the resolution childish, and more than that. The Wellington branch is part of the National Federation, and to pass a resolution of that kind without first consulting the national organisation seems to me an act of disloyalty to its own body. What was the object of the demonstration? Why march particularly to Parliament Building, where their own friends are in control? If it was not a demonstration against the Government, then it was an act of madmen." Employers' Assurance. The Minister explained that on the previous afternoon he had discussed matters with the employers of the printing trade, and was assured by them that they would be quite willing to meet the men, either in Conciliation Council or out of it. He had met the men's representatives iu the evening and told them of this undertaking, which he confirmed by telephoning one of the employers' representatives.

During this interview Mr. Armstrong declared that ho could not understand the resolutions of the next morning's stop-work meeting, when they knew that the conference they demanded had actually been arranged the day before. No Reason for Motion. Interviewed regarding the motion passed, asking the Minister to arrange a conference with the employers of the printing trade the secretary of the Master Printers' Federation (Mr. Clarkson) and the secretary of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association (Mr. Berry) stated that there was not the slightest reason for such a motion. The employers at all times had been willing and ready to meet the employees' representatives. In fact the conciliation proceedings had been adjourned by mutual agreement between the employers' associations and the workers' federation, pending the Court's decision on the hours question. Those proceedings could now be resumed at any time suitable to the parties. Probably early next week would be suitable, in view of the fact that the representatives of both parties had to come from distant parts of the Dominion. The action of the workers in ignoring law and by a stop-work meeting dislocating the work of the establishments came as a surprise to the employers, in .view of the undertaking of both employers and employees to accept the decision of the Arbitration Court regarding hours of work.