Airline boycott order by unions

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33212, 30 April 1973, Page 1

Airline boycott order by unions

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

MEXICO CITY, April 29. The Secretary-General of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Mr Otto Kersten, of West (lermany, has ordered the confederation’s 52 million members to boycott the French airline, Air France, in protest against the planned French nuclear tests in the Pacific.

The order followed a; threat of world-wide action against French interests if the tests are continued. Mr Kersten sent out the order from here through his headquarters in Brussels to regional offices scattered throughout the world. The strike threat against French goods, and the subsequent boycott order, came ini a strongly-worded resolution( passed by the I.C.F.T.U. fin-: ance anil general purposes committee on Friday night after a two-day meeting. Confederation officials es-l timate that the I.C.F.T.U. [ spends millions of dollars a year on air travel. The resolution called: members to make prepara-j tions to take full and appropriate action against French interests throughout the] world. The president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (Mr Robert Hawke) lobbied among the 11 com-; mittee members to get the resolution passed. Mr Hawke said this would include boycotts of French ships, aircraft and handling of French exports and any I other industrial action deemed appropriate.

Sydney meeting Unions in countries fringing the Pacific Ocean from the Far East to Latin America will meet in Sydney as soon as possible to consider co-ordinated action against the test. Mr Kersten side-stepped a question on how binding the I.C.F.T.U. decision would be on member countries. But, he said: “This was not a summit decision. It was approved by the representatives of our members who in turn had discussed it previously with their rank < nd file.” The I.C.F.T.L. covers the major non-Communist countries of the world except the United States, which pulled out of the organisation in 1969 after an internal squabble. But the powerful United States A.F.L.-C.1.0. union! continues to sit in the

I.C.F.T.U. regional organisa-j tion for Latin America. The committee included representatives of Japan, Canada, India, Australia, Belgium, the Scandinavian countries, Britain and Latin America. In Tokyo, the leader of Japan’s biggest labour organisation, the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sohyo), said his organisation would fully support in principle the call for possible strikes. Mr Shogo Ohki, secretary general of the more than 4 million strong council, said that although Sohyo itself was not affiliated with the I.C.F.T.U. except for some of its unions, it would support the world-wide organisation for individual actions when considered justified. Communist move The Communist-backed World Federation of Trade Unions has appealed to workers and trade unions of; all countries to demand the immediate cancellation of the tests. A statement issued in Prague said the federation “expresses its solidarity with the workers and trade unions in the countries of the Pacific zone and in France in their united action to secure the cancellation of the nuclear bomb tests by the French Government.” The statement said the federation protested against the French Government’s decision to carry on with the tests.