VOLUNTEER FIREMEN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25298, 25 September 1947, Page 3

VOLUNTEER FIREMEN

COMPULSORY UNION MEMBERSHIP

(P.A.) AUCKLAND, Sept. 24. Volunteer workers in fire brigades may be required to join their local fire brigades employees’ unions although in a Dominion ballot 2281 volunteer workers voted against joining the firemen’s unions, and only 57 favoured the proposal. This information was received from the New Zealand Fire Boards’ Association at a meeting of the Auckland. Metropolitan Fire Board. ' 4 The board decided to write to the Minister of Internal Affairs' (Mr W. E. Parry) and protest against forcing men to join the unions. “Regardless of the overwhelming vote of volunteer firemen throughout New Zealand against the proposal that they should join their respective firemen’s unions Mr L. Glover, secretary of the New Zealand Firemen’s Union, and his executive qre all the more determined that the men should join unions,” stated the letter. “Immediately the result Of the voting was known, this association wrote to the Federation of Labour asking it to support our request to the Government for an amendment to the law to exempt volunteer workers from membership. The president of the federation has now replied stating that the national executive of the federation is unanimously of the opinion that all fire brigade workers should be unioni~The board decided that the superintendent (Mr W. L. Wilson) or his deputy (Mr G. A. McKenzie) should attend an emergency meeting ot the Superintendents’ Union m Wellington on October 1.