Reply To Retailers On Discounts To Groups

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30073, 6 March 1963, Page 14

Reply To Retailers On Discounts To Groups

(Naw Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, Mar. 5.

To blame toe trade union movement for toe machinations of retailers in toe course of their legitimate business is “too much to swallow," said Mr T. E. Skinner, vicepresident of toe Federation of Labour, to Auckland today; The secretary of toe Retailers’ Federation (Mr D. P. Munro) told delegates at the annual conference at Wairakei that toe federation had observed attempts by “pressure groups’*—industrial unions and other employees' associations to particular—to force retailers to sett goods to their membecs at cheap rates. The policy at the federation on privileged discounts was dear and unequivocal; it was opposed to special discounts on ethical and eoonomic grounds, Mr Munro had said in his report to the federation. The federation did not believe it was ethical to sell to pressure groups ait a price less than the pubbe had to pay, and if such discounts could be granted, toe price

to the public from that store must be unnecessarily high. * The economic reason was that if pressure groups were successful. retailers not offering discounts were likely to match toe offer, and toe resultant cut price competition, while satisfactory for the purchasing public, was most certainly no godti for the retail trade, Mr Munro said. Mr Skinner said today he was “astounded" at Mr Munro’s statement.

“This business practice has been initiated by retailers themselves,” be said, “and to talk about coercion from pressure groups inside toe trade union movement shows a complete lack of appreciation of the position. 'To my own knowledge—of 30 years’ experience—retailers have been vying for the custom of working “K there has been any coercion or pressure, then one would have expected some proof to be forthcoming and that any unfair practice would have been revealed,” he said.