LABOUR DISPUTES

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25970, 25 November 1949, Page 8

LABOUR DISPUTES

VIEW OF LABOURERS’ FEDERATION NEGOTIATIONS PREFERRED TO “SHORT CUTS” “The Press” Special Service INVERCARGILL, November 24. The value of negotiation in industrial disputes (rather than having recourse to what were described as short cuts) was emphasised in the report presented to the annual conference of the General Labourers’ Federation in Invercargill to-day. After detailing the improvement m wages ana conditions achieved in recent awards, the report added: “Evetr if we had recourse to short cuts/it is obvious from our observation of sijch methods in other industries that- ; --wg> mately, even in such Instances, parties must get down to negotiations or else leave a settlement to someone else probably less informed than the parties, with the possibility of an unsatisfactory conclusion plus the bitterUfes which remains after a serious clash. Our union’s officers and members arq to be congratulated on the advances which have been made over the yeafs, particularly as in 20 years members have not been asked to cease work for even a few hours to force any gain. “The results of negotiations are not solely the work of our representatives. We have noted a change in the personnel of employers’ assessors in conciliation. The old dyed-in-the-wool union and worker-hating type of employers’ assessor can still occasionally be met; but whereas up to a few years ago this type was the general rule, we find that he is now of the rare kind. In the majority of instances in conciliation we have been met fairly by employers, as is demonstrated by the list of full settlements. We welcome this attitude of free conciliation and gladly pay a tribute to hose employers’ representatives who ’have had the ?ourage to break with the old tyrannical tradition of hate and resentment and who have contributed to ushering in a period of better understanding and better relationship in industrial negotiations.”