WHICH UNION?

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 165, 15 July 1939, Page 10

WHICH UNION?

TEMPORARY WORKERS. 5000 EMPLOYEES OF STATE. CLAIMS OF NEW BODY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The controversy about the organisation to which temporary public servants should belong was advanced further by Mr. H. J. Underwood, secretary of the N'ew Zealand Association of Temporary Public Servants, in a statement to the fress referring to the recent statement by Mr. W. X\ Pharazyn, secretary of the Xew Zealand Clerical Employees' Association, on the subject of attempts by temporary State employees to obtain improved conditions. Mr. Underwood said that only 80 if the 5000 odd temporary State employees had sought the aid of the Federation ot Labour, through Mr. Pharazyn, who, he claimed, had admitted this. "The Xew Zealand Association of Temporary Public Servants is a Domniion organisation," he said, "and it has never sought the assistant-" of the Federation of labour, or even of Mr. Pharazyn. Although Mr. Pharazyn has professed ignorance of its activities, he knows as much as he is entitled to know about i*. In these circumstances Mr. Pharazyn had no grounds for saj-Jng that temporary officers were bound to follow the advice he presumed to give them on behalf of the federation." Mr. Uiwlerwood also objected to Mr. Pharazyns suggestion that the New Zealand Association of Temporary Public Servants was his (Mr. Underwood's, association. "I am merely an officer of the association to which I belong," .-mid Mr. Underwood. "I ha vi- no proprietary rights as far as it is concerned." Mr. Underwood contended that Mr. Pharazyn had misstated the positun about the conference stated to have taken piece on June 4. He claimed that no conference took place, but a deputation of those mentioned by Mr. Pharazyn had waited on the Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb. Mr. Pharazyn had told him that the conference had been arranged with three Cabinet Ministers to settle the question of temporary officers' salaries, and the Xew Zen la n<l Association of Temporary Public Servante was asked to be represented at it. Mr. Pharazyn and ills deputation refused to admit the association's representatives, who were atten-i----ing with the sole object of watching the interests of their members.

Mr. Underwood claimed that Mr. Pharazyn's organisation was misrepresenting the attitude of the Government when its officials alleged that the Minister of Labour had approved temporary officers joining separate unions. Mr. Webb had definitely repudiated having given such approval.

The suggestion that ti -iiporary Sta'e employees should be spread over many unions was actually opposed to zhe policy of the Federation of Labour, it was the declared policy of that body that workers should be organised on an industrial and not on a craft bam. Therefore, there was no doubt that temporary public servants should have their own nation.il organisation. This was the view th.it had received support from many of the unions in question.