‘Hard road’ for new Minister of Labour

Press, 29 November 1978, Page 3

‘Hard road’ for new Minister of Labour

PA Auckland! The man the Prime Minis- j ter (Mr Muldoon) picked as his new Minister of Labour} would have “a pretty rocky; road to hoe,” said Sir Thomas Skinner, president; of the Federation of Labour,; yesterday. ‘‘lf he does not have at least the same sense of balance as Peter Gordon (the previous Minister who has retired from politics) he faces an impossible task,” Sir Thomas said at the open-

liing of the Timber Workers’ I Union annual conference in Rotorua. The Government’s excuse ■ j for its industrial-relations 'ipolicy was that it had a •;mandate from the 1975 General Election, he said. ,1 “That’s no longer valid: it ; hasn’t got a mandate for any Jof its policies, let alone ■'industrial relations.” :: There were no signs that the Government’s attitude had changed in spite of the ' rebuff it had received on ■ Saturday.

i Sir Thomas had a message ’for whoever followed Mr j Gordon: “Industrial relations ’will settle down only when in e g o t i a t ions between employer and employee are allowed to find their own level without Government interference. The trade-union movement and the employers can take care of themselves. “The Government’s task is to get on with the job of straightening out the .finances of the country and putting some incentive into production.”