INCIDENT AT I.L.O. CONFERENCE

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25549, 17 July 1948, Page 2

INCIDENT AT I.L.O. CONFERENCE

ACCOUNT GIVEN BY N.Z. ‘ DELEGATE An account of the expulsion of a workers’ delegate from French India (Mr M. R. Dorairaju) from the Workers’ Group at the Preparatory Asian Regional Conference of the International Labour Organisation at New Delhi at the end of 1947, is contained in the report of the New Zealand delegate (Mr A. B. Grant), which has just been published. Mr Grant says in the report that after the group had heard a report by Mr V. Subbiah, the president of the French India Labour Federation, which stated that the Government of French India had appointed its own agent as representative of the workers, Mr Dorairaju had been expelled, there being only one dissentient vote? “Subsequently the Governor of French India requested the group to reconsider its decision/’ continues the report. “Reaffirmation of expulsion was moved and again the resolution was carried. The one dissentient on both occasions was a Christian Trades Union representative from French India, who, holding, me responsible for his friend’s expulsion, grabbed me by my very red tie and swung me around shouting, ‘La politique, la politique.’ We had a very heated argument through an interpreter until the interpreter got thoroughly fed up and walked away leaving us to argue, as did Panurge with Thaumast, the learned Englishman. The sign language was remark-’ able.” The report adds that there was in the main unanimity in the group.’