ARBITRATION BILL.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16985, 6 November 1920, Page 8

ARBITRATION BILL.

RETENTION OF CLAUSES 3 AND 4 URGED. Protests against the deletion of clauses 3 and 4 from the Arbitration Act Amendment - Bill now before tho House were forwarded yesterday to Sir William Herries, Minister of Labour, and Sir Heaton "Rhodes. The following telegram has been sent to tho Minister of Labour by the chairman of the New Zealand Freezing and Allied Offices Guild Incorporated:— "Wo strongly urge you to resist the tyrannical attempts being made by labour unions to throw out the proposed amendments to the Arbitration Act, especially clause 3. We consider that our Guild, which is thoroughly repx*esentative of a technical inclustrj', the clerical side of which is also largely technical, should have tho right equally with any union to the protection afforded by the Arbitration Court. The members of our Guild represent 87 per cent of the clerical employees of tlioir companies or firms and we are unanimously antagonistic to being m any way brought under the domination or control of the Canterbury Clerks Union, which has a membership of 240 out of a total of over 300Q clerks in Canterbury, whereas our membership is 194 out of a total of 200 employed. We have no dispute with our employers and have even petitioned them to apply for exemption from the terms of tho clerks award. Tho Clerks' Union has no authority or claim to interfere with us. Wo consider that workers need protection from Labour extremists more than thoy do from their employers and we look to you in the first instance to see that we get the protection we ask for." The Guild also wired Sir Heaton ■Rhodes as follows:—

"Please use your best endeavours to retain clauses 3 and 4 of the Arbitration Act amendments, which will greatly benefit an organisation such as our own, which represents the majority of the members employed in their respective industries." Another telegraphed protest was forwarded to the Minister of Labour by the Wholesale Warehouse Clerks' Society in the following terms: — '"The "Wholesale Warehouse Clerks' Society object to the attempts made to throw out the proposed amendments to the Arbitration Act, especially clause 3. We consider the strength of our Society entitles us to the same status and protection as a union. Our membership represents 21 _ wholesale warehouses whose total clerical staffs are 125, and our Society comprises 123 of these. We have adopted a fair and satisfactory agreement re wages and conditions with our employers and have no dispute. We earnestly solicit your assistance and protection in obtaining the necessary registration and lei/nl status. The secretary of the Clerks' Union stated publicly recently that ho had no objection to the registration of guilds. Our Society for some time has been claiming exemption from the Clerks' Union and strongly objects tn being forced into an industrial union governed by extremists.''