INDUSTRIAL LAW.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18552, 30 November 1925, Page 14

INDUSTRIAL LAW.

PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS ' QUID PRO QUO SUGGESTED, i ■ [Contributed.] ' Of the many questions surrounding the regulation of labour none has been more persistently canvassed than that of preference in employment to nnion members. Notwithstanding the amount of attention that has been devoted to the consideration of this important subject, however, no complete or satisfactory explanation has appeared in support of the validity of any claim to this particular privilege, and at the present time there seems to be in evidence no stronger reason for its maintenance than that of a vaguely suggested expediency. Strongest Possible Foundation. From tho side of those who desired to establish unionism upon the strongest possible foundation it appeared that the buttress of preference would elevate the unions ta a position of comparative stability and dwarf competition from non-unionists into a negligible quantity. Apparently it was inferred that the granting of this particular concession would bring about such an atmosphere of content that strikes against tho conditions from time to time imposed upon labour would entirely disappear or, at any rate, bo greatly diminished. Unfortunately, this inference has not been justified by results. A Grave Omission. A carious feature in connexion with the granting of this privilege is that no equivalent seems to have been gftven n exchange—none seems to have been even suggested—and hence a great and nndis- j puted principle' has once again been sub- j merged in tho tortuous currents of expediency. The principle that underlies the granting of a privilege by tho community to any person or body of associated persons is that in return for the advantages so conferred a recognisable' service shall be accorded. In every body to which a charter is granted, for instance, a professional competence is implied to which tho community may ] have access upon all lawful occasions, and it may bo definitely stated that no charter would be, in any circumstances, granted to a body failing to produce satisfactory evidence that such trained professional competence would bo available. It follows, also, that any charter may bo revoked if the persons enjoying the privileges it confers fail to satisfy the community that the proper qualification, is being maintained, A Bewildered Community. The privilege of preference is one of unusual importance in that it practically disqualifies all applicants for employment outside the subscribing members of tho union. It is this far-reaching condition that is to-day the chief element ia the maintenance of unionism, and the true explanation of the arro- . gant attitude assumed by Labour upon many recent occasions. A bewildered' community is now. asking how it comes about, that notwithstanding , tho privilege of. preference, illegal strikes do not seem to have diminished to any sensible degree, and why many of them appear .." to arise- from exceedingly trivial origins. In addition to this, a certain amount of suspicion attaches to the fact that, despite the denials of union officials, illegal strikes appear to bo the result of concerted action, and this suspicion deepens into a more or less wellgrounded belief that the men are upon occasions acting upon definite instructions conveyed to them from timo'to time by some persons apparently interested in the. continuance of labour disputes. ' ■ The Time Opportune. It is not surprising that, as a result of these < harassing tactics,. tho wisdom of granting such a privilege as preference is again being actively canvassed, and that to-day there are many advocates of the policy of withdrawing the privilege, which'it is stated has not only failed to foring about the expected contentment, but has actually aggravated the evils it was'ihtendod to allay. In these circumstances the time' seems 1 to be opportune to investigate the matter from the point of view of the hitherto neglected principle of reciprocity, and it may be that in the light of such an enquiry a way of retrieving the errors of ' the past may be found, ( ' '■■;'•■■ | A Sound Principle. If the soundness of the principle of. in exchange for a privilege' some form of service that can! be,effectively maintained be admitted then the way seems clear to suggest v a remedy that may have the effect of restoring the lost element.of control. The application of this principle could be made without apparent difficulty, and with only a slight amendment of the existing ;law, if the unions to which the preference has been accorded were obliged in return for this privilege to accept the responsibility / of'control.? This being the case, it.would be|the ; duty,of the union confronted with, an illegal strike to cancel forthwith! the membership of j the-strikers, who would immediately become barred from employment under the very rule of preference* which had sheltered them while obedient to union control. - i . Tie Wonkas'. Piivilegei. It can scarcely be supposed that in. the face of such a rule any worker or section of workers would create an illegal strike without grave consideration, since the penalty of being placed outside the pale of preference would strip the worker of the most prized of his privileges. If the union failed to exercise its function in discharging recalcitrant members, it would be exposed to de-registration upon proof of the fact, at (he suit of any party entitled to make such application. Here again the liability to de-registration would be one which, no union would lightly incur, since the consequence would entail such unwelcome results as the loss of office by. tho union officials, the possible loss Qf the union's accumulated funds, and last, but not least, the loss of preference- to all "tho members of the union, , The Union's Interests. In these circumstance's it is not likely that the union would run the risk of de-registration, seeing that the alternative of discharging disobedient members • would obviously be the line of least resistnace, and, incidentally, that the liability to be discharged for disobedience would be presented to the individual members as an additional rea--8?n .*°. r acce Pti»g without demur the discipline of the union organisation. If the union or its officers were to foment an illegal strike* the union itself would \ ; to de-registration under proof -' of" the fact at the suit of any party &V.W#tled to institute the necessary prone first act of the union ■claim responsibility for ler to' preserve its own he' next would be to tion of disciplining the , -The function of the ; With such applications Ifi would be first to dend hpon proof to record &%ol next column.)