Union Man On Chamber Urged

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31783, 13 September 1968, Page 16

Union Man On Chamber Urged

The Chamber of Commerce in Christchurch should have a representative of the trade unions on its council, said the managing director of Sales Marketing Techniques, Mr I. J. Davies, of Auckland, in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Davies said that he be. lieved that the argument of associated chambers against having a union leader as a member was be that a union leader was not an employer. Mr Davies said that rules could be changed to enable chambers of commerce to admit trade union members. In an era of greater sophistication and better-educated people, the rules of membership might be more closely examined and modified. Mr Davies who is conducting sales marketing courses in Chriscthurch said he believed in integration of organisations such as the trade unions and the manufacturers’ associations.

They would know what was going on and would be able to quickly put right things that might otherwise become troublesome. Mr Davies said that he felt that the greater the representation on bodies such as the chamber of commerce, the more likely were decisions to be effective. For example, a watersiders’ executive on the chamber of commerce could well help the

chamber when it was discuss, ing such issues as the streamlining of New Zealand ports. Asked to comment on Mr Davies’s remarks, the president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce (Mr E. J. Parry) said that occasions had arisen in the past when the chamber had conferred with union representatives. If the circumstances should arise in the future where a wider approach to a particular matter might be desirable, the chamber could consider seeking further exchanges of opinion with union representatives. The president of the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association (Mr A. S. Farrar) said remarks by Mr Davies would need some clarification before the association could consider them.