WORKERS DEFENDED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 138, 13 June 1941, Page 2

WORKERS DEFENDED

>1 IS- THOICVS M STI1I( vriON

il>y Telegraph P»rli»mrni:-.ry Rrpnncr.l WELLINGTON, this day. Declaring that the Opposition and Press wen- endeavouring to create the impression that, by strikes and laziness workers were paralvsing the industry of the Dominion Mr. Thorn (Government. Thames) said in the House of Representatives last night, that the most recent abstract of statistics disclosed that in the last three-monthly period recorded there hail been only 14 strikes and that the number of days lost bv each worker averaged one' and one-fifth. 'I here were two ways of handling workers. One was bv builving. insulting and threatening. That' was Hitler's way and it was Mr. McCaul's way of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

"I thank God that the Government of this country is not in the hands of such people," he added.

Mr. Broadfoot (National. Waitomol What about the Nathan incident?

Mr. Thorn said that the other way was to handle the workers in a friendly and decent, manner. If they were treated like human beings they would respond in the right way.

The Leader of the Opposition. Mr. Holland, asked why Mr. Thorn had not given the strike (igurcs for the whole term of the Labour Government instead of picking out a threemonths period. For live years, from 1030 to 10 10. inclusive, there had been 2SO strikes in New Zealand, the total amount of wages lost amounting to i' 175.000.