The Press SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939. Industrial Disputes and the War

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22895, 16 December 1939, Page 12

The Press SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1939. Industrial Disputes and the War

The stoppage of work at the Belfast freezing works is the first serious industrial dispute since the outbreak of war; and the promptness with which the Minister for Labour has intervened shows that the Government is fully aware of its importance. It must be hoped, however, that the- Government will not be content to deal with the dispute as an isolated episode but will regard it as a warning that the problem of relations between labour and capital is one which must be solved in general terms if New Zealand’s' economic contribution to the Commonwealth’s war effort is to be fully efficient. During the last three months a vast amount has been said about the unity of the New Zealand people in their determination to prosecute the war against Germany to the full extent of their resources. But the -fact remains that in one vital respect unity is lacking. There is as yet no sign that workers and employers have subordinated their rights of direct action against one another to the need for increased industrial efficiency. What makes this particularly serious is that the loss of working time through industrial disputes has been increasing steadily, over the last few years and, with the cost of living •rising at an accelerating rate, might in normal circumstances be expected to, increase even more rapidly in the immediate future. The figures for the nine months ended September 30 last, with comparative figures for the corresponding period in the previous three years, are given in the following table:— ■ Nine Months Number of Work. Days Wages Ended. Disputes. Lost. Lost. £ September, 1939 .. 55 44,851 50,526 September, 1938 .. 56 19,761 20,868 September, 1937 .. 42 23,320 22,577 September, 1936 . . 32 12,652 9,263 In this war, the British Commonwealth is fighting a country in which the rights of strike and lock-out have been abolished; and it is at least worth trying to persuade workers and ■ employers in New Zealand’s more essential industries to forgo these rights voluntarily. Whether trie State would be justified in suppressing these rights is a question on which New Zealanders would probably be divided in their opinions. But the great majority of them would agree that, in the present emergency, the law should be rigidly and impartially enforced against workers and employers who cause, stoppages of work in defiance of industrial awards of the Arbitration Court, that machinery for the settlement of disputes should be established in every industry, and that no resort to the strike or the lock-out should be permitted until a settlement has been sought through this machinery. Most of the serious industrial disputes which have arisen recently have had their origin in trivialities, and stoppages of work have occurred before any serious attempt has been made to negotiate a settlement. The time has come to tackle the problem nationally and to regard its. solution as essential to the full success of the national war effort. In this war, the economic effort is not less important than the military; and for that reason industry should be prepared to subject itself to discipline. v