LESSON NOT LEARNT

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28343, 31 July 1957, Page 5

LESSON NOT LEARNT

No Harmony From Repression “Mr Cable is a link with bygone days,’’ said the secretary of the Canterbury district council of the Federation s of Labour (Mr C. R. Thomas) commenting on the presidential address of Mr James Cable to the Wellington Employers’ Association. He felt sure that the great majority of New Zealand employers would not subscribe in any way to Mr Cable’s views, said Mr Thomas. “It must have been embarrassing for Mr Cable’s fellow employers to have to sit through his addresses. “Mr Cable has not learnt the lesson of history that repressive measures do not bring harmony. If workers as a body feel justified in their actions no repressive measures such as Mr Cable advocates will deter them,” said Mr Thomas. “I am sure that remarks such as Mr Cable makes will not help the cause of industrial harmony. Does he think that workers are a class apart and that they have no thoughts or feelings? “What steps would be taken to penalise an employer who by his actions covertly incited men to strike?’’ asked Mr Thomas. What authority had Mr Cable for his suggestion that strikes held in New Zealand had' been Commun-ist-dominated? The evidence in Canterbury would not justify it. “In spite of the Government’s feeling that there is great industrial harmony in New Zealand, Mr Cable is apparently still unsatisfied,” said Mr Thomas. “The industrial scene in recent years, since the disturbance of 1951, has been remarkable for its harmony,” ke quoted from the 1957 Budget.