Strike Postponed—Or Cancelled ?

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30632, 24 December 1964, Page 10

Strike Postponed—Or Cancelled ?

If postponement of the firemen’s strike means only that they think a strike after Christmas would be more successful, not much hope can be held for an early and reasonable settlement of their dispute with the fire boards. The tone of the statement by the unions’ spokesman on this occasion, Mr L. D. Robertson, of Auckland, was encouraging; but the fact that the unions have heeded the advice of the Federation of Labour may be more significant. Firemen may now be coming to the point of recognising that they are not likely to get much redress of their grievances—real and imaginarywhile they defy the due process of law. Though the immediate cause of trouble is the readiness of firemen to use industrial blackmail to force their employers to grant factory hours (a flagrant breach of a gentlemen’s agreement), the sources of conflict are much deeper-seated. The men cannot be held solely to blame for the unrest that has for years threatened the efficiency of professional brigades. Some recent statements at meetings of the Christchurch Fire Board, for instance, have been inflammatory and unworthy of members of a local authority. A searching inquiry to ascertain why fire brigade morale has fallen and how a better spirit can be restored is warranted; but the Government can hardly appoint a commission for the purpose while firemen threaten open disobedience of their legal and moral obligations.