ULTIMATUMS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 11, 14 January 1944, Page 6

ULTIMATUMS

MOVES BY DRIVERS STOP-WORK MEETING No buses will run within the 25mile radius of the Chief Post, Office next Sunday. If within seven days from to-day the dispute between the omnibus drivers and the omnibus proprietors concerning doubie time for Sunday work is not settled ail buses within the 25-mile radius will cea-o running.. If the section of the Drivers' Union (all drivers within the 25-mile radiusj covered by the Government's deregistraticih order is not reregistered by the Government within 10 davs a" further stop-work meeting of the Auckland Drivers' Union will be called. The decision? regarding next Sundav and the two ultimatums resulted from a stopwcrk meeting attended by about 1500 members of the Auckland Drivers' Union at the Town Hall this morning. At one .stage of the meeting there appeared to be widespread support for a proposal that all drivers should cease work as from next Sunday. A motion to this effect, based on the deregistration question, was defeated, although there seemed to be general support for it when it was first proposed. It was made clear that not even essential workers would be carried next Sunday. The opinion, voiced by one member, that Army lorries would be used to carry workers to essential industries, seemed to express the general impression. Tramways Support

Early in the meeting a letter was read from the Auckland Tramways Union stating that at a union meeting held on January 11 it had been unammousry decided "to pledge its every support in order to secure a satisfactory conclusion of the issue.'' The meeting, which was presided aver by the president of the union. Mr. E. Taylor, and briefly addressed by the secretary, Mr. L. G. Matthews, and the organiser, Mr F. D. Muller, was attended by about a dozen women drivers as well a≤ by the bulk of city truck and bus drivers. For two hours; from nine till 11 a.m. there was practically no' commercial traffic in the city. A large number of buses were lined up at the bus terminal, and along Queen Street and other streets in the vicinity of the Town Hall, there were hundreds of delivery vans, trucks and even one bus.

Two Questions to Settle The meeting was an orderly one. though at times the remarks.."of speakers from the body of the.trall could not be heard above the-'-cen-versation going on. Mr. TaylST pointed out at the start that there were - two questions before them. The first of these was what further action was necessary to settle the dispute. As a second consideration they had to discuss ways and means of continuing their industrial organisation pending a settlement of tlie dispute. ".',""*.';'?. Following him, Mr. Matthews urged that the question of the dispute with the bus proprietors was the major consideration, and should be dealt with before the deregistration question. He was satisfied the deregistration question would be settled as soon as the dispute was settled. He then outlined the union's attitude and actions concerning the dispute over Sunday double time for bus drivers and the action ,of the Minister of Labour, Mr. Webb, in regard to deregistration of a se'ction of the union. He told how following that he went to the secretary of the Employers' Association, Mr. W. E. Anderson, and asked whether the employers were prepared to recognise the organisation. "Mr. Anderson replied, 'How can you recognise something that does not exist?' and I informed him that if they tried to slip anything over on us they would know we existed all right—and I meant it." He went on to inform the men that as far as wages and conditions were concerned their wages were fixed by stabilisation and they-could-nof be called on to work for less* "The union will protect your working conditions also," he said-* -- v>. Mr. "Webb's Actions ' "

Referring later to Mr. Webb's actions, Mr. Matthews said: "Before this meeting closes it will be necessary to tell the Minister what;we think of his actions as Minister ;qf Labour in a Labour Government;;'" The question of deregistration.NEas the theme of Mr.' Muller's address,. If they did.not secure re-registration as a union under the I.C. and A. Act they had it in their power to register as an organisation under another Act, he said. They would have no alternative but to follow the ■water-, siders and seamen then and hold regular stopwork meetings. "There was no wish, he said, that .they should do'anything to hinder -the war effort. He believed the first thing to do was to win the war, but they had their rights to defend. General Drivers' Strike Proposal Immediately general discussion was opened the motion was proposed "that as the Government is directly responsible for the cancellation of registration of the union, we inform the Government that if we are not immediately re-registered we will refuse to drive after Sunday next."

This motion was proposed by a bus driver, and when the question was put to him as to whether he intended it to cover the whole union or merely the bus drivers, he said: "I mean bus drivers." When it was pointed out to .him that it was a meeting of the whole union and not merely of the bus drivers, he agreed, amid prolonged applause, to extend the motion to cover the whole union. There was an amendment to this proposal, emanating from another bus driver, that the time limit should be made from Saturday night instead of Sunday, the cease-work decision to cover all drivers within the 25-mile radius. In answer to a question, Mr. Matthews said the registration of the union entailed considerable detail and re-registration, even if decided on immediately, could not possibly be completed before next Wednesday. A Voice: We were de-registered overnight. The Minister has. seen fit to buck this body. This union will buck . . . put the onus on the Minister to re-register us overnight. " A Buck at Government" : _ From the other side of the hall a speaker began an appeal to members to stand by the Government. The employers, he said, wanted the workers to come to grips with the Gov-, ernment. The Labour Government needed all the strength the workers could give it. If they decided on a general strike they were making "a buck at the .Government." He thought they should, .limit it to the bus drivers and there should be no Sunday buses until some agreement was reached. • t

At this stage someone at the back of the hail said that not a third of j the audience had heard what had I been said. It was a serious matter '• and they had a right to hear. ■ Mr. Muller said the proposal for 1 all drivers to stop work this weekI end unless tney were immediately J re-registered was not practicable. ; They'had it in their power to cause I considerable inconvenience at the I present time because there was a i manpower shortage. "Any union 1 has "that power, make no mistake i about that," he said. However, they did not want to cause chaos, they ' d :, £ not want- to open up a general strike until it was found that there i was no hope of getting an agreement. otherwise. ••If we say, 'We'll give you ten • davs'.' they can't say this union has : been" unreasonable. We are not losi in° anything.' , said Mr. Muller. "As ■ for Mr Webb, the Minister has ' iumped on the employers' side. . . . ' Wall, that's nothing new.' Motion Carried Unanimously They were putting the cart before ' the hoVse, said another speaker, who i urged that the primary reason for ■ the meeting was to fix up the bus I drivers' dispute. He gave notice oi : a' further amendment that the bus . drivers should cease to drive on I Sunday after this -week, and that u i the" bus proprietors did not settle : the question in dispute in cne week i all buses over /. 25-mile radius I should cease running. \ Voice- If you are going to stop i anything, ston everything. Why ' -tick to the 25-mile radius? Tne\ : are ail members of th£ union. Stop ! that cream delivery—that 11 tickle i them. Alter considerably more discus- ! sion a motion was accepted that the ! question be put. The amendment to cease work from Saturday *night I was unanimously defeated, and the r second amendment, pledging the support of ail drivers for the bus drivers in. their fight for better conditions and giving notice that it within seven days the dispute was not settled ail buses within the 20mile radius should cease running, was carried unanimously.

- While this motion was being restated a member asked what was to Stop the Government from putting Army drivers on civilian buses. Soldiers' Attitude? Mr Matthews smiled as he stood up" to answer. ' "I'll leave it enure y to the speaker's intelligence. W otild the soldiers do it?" he said, amid a roar of derisive laughter. Mr Matthews said that he was nerfectly satisfied, that the union could deal with the bus proprietors, and once the dispute was settled reregistration would be a simple thing •"'lt's my belief and policy that if you have a dispute confine it to the people concerned." he said. "\\ e can confine it to the bus proprietors and make it hurt. Mr. Spencer, president of the Auckland Omnibus Proprietors' Association, had buses on the road last Sunday and did not make a gross return of"£4 —let him laugh that off. Spencer is well known to the industrial organisations of this town."

On Mr. Matthews' suggestion a motion'was put before the meeting '•demanding the Government _to resto'-e the registration of the union within 10 days, failing which a further stop-work meeting will be called/' This motion was carried unanimously; - •

Appeal to Members A. further proposal was put that bus drivers who had suffered financially or who lost wages on coming Sundavs should be reimbursed from union'funds or by the striking of a levy There were immediately cries fnwo, bus drivers that "We don't want it," and the.-, motion was lost. At the conclusion -of the meeting. Mr Matthews said he had given an undertaking on behalf of the union that the meeting should close at 11 o'clock and the drivers immediately return to work. "The bus proprietors are the only people we have a fight with at present," he said, "and we have no desire to extend it.' He appealed to them all immediately to return to %r.otk.. ,— VMembers apparently obeyed this injunction, for within a few minutes after the meeting broke up all trucks and delivery vans in the vicinity of the Town Hall had dispersed, and there were only a few small groups of people left outside discussing what "had taken place!