TRADE UNIONS’ ATTITUDE

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24866, 4 May 1946, Page 2

TRADE UNIONS’ ATTITUDE

“HOUSING OF VITAL

IMPORTANCE ” ( P;A?,„ . WELLINGTON, JJay 3. c Wrent impression that the Trade Upiep movement is implacmovement was, however, fully aware that in tjic past the workers of’ various countries had witnessed hard-won privileges undermined or destroyed by deliberate flooding of the labour market as a whole or in a particular industry. “The Federation of Labour is therefore particularly anxious that immigration should Pot be permitted to proceed at a rate ip excess pf the country s powers of industrial absorpshould never be sufficient to create unemployment or other economic disruption,” said the report. “This is not a narrow view. It is in the plain interests of both the present population and prospective immigrants.

‘‘New Zealand’s immediate needs, the federation considers, are for workers with particular skills te overcome production difficulties. The main classes of workers required are timber workers, skilled metal workers, coalminers, and women for employment in hospitals, factories, and domestic work. It. will be readily appreciated there is likely to be considerable difficulty in obtaining them, “A problem of vital Importance to working people, and one which cannot be ignored when an immigration policy IS under consideration, is that of housing. Till the situation eases, the federation views with disquiet the S----“ect of immigrants with young es entering the country in any ers, It feels that young single workers, who are more easily housed, would be preferable. ‘‘Jn. planning future immigration poliey. too, the federation considers it should also be borne in mind that young persons adjust themselves to environment more readily than old, tons being more satisfactory immigrants.”

The federation said that another class of immigrants of increasing importance as New Zealand’s industrial development proceeded were workers bringing to the country new skill. Every encouragement should be given to such persons. A tendency for a decreased proportion of New Zealand's population to be located in rural areas was likely to continue. The federation believed, however, that there was considerable scope for continued development of secondary industries both for the processing of raw materials produced in New Zealand and for the economic processing of imported raw materials. Two considerations which sometimes diverged had to be reconciled in the formulation of immigration policy—the interests of the existing population, and humanitarian obligations to toe people of other countries. Trade unionists had been the foremost section of the population in acknowledging the latter. The federation was, however, well aware that the maximum contribution New Zealand cpqld make by a policy of unregulated immigration towards relieving population ■ .pressures in areas of uncontrolled population growth would not Contribute in any degree to the solution of the problem. This did not indicate that the federation was blind to New Zealand's responsibility toward these peoples. Qn the contrary Now Zealand, with all other progressive countries, had the responsibility of insisting that such countries be given an opportunity to develop industrially and socially in order that they might raise their standards pf life and thus solve the P-;°Mem for themselves. ’The primary concern of the federation when considering the population position in New Zealand is, future gen.’ erations,” the statement added.