Re-election of executive ‘victory for unity’

Press, 8 May 1980, Page 3

Re-election of executive ‘victory for unity’

PA ~ Wellington < i In a surprise move yester- 1 day, the Federation of Labour’s annual conference J returned its national execu- 1 tive unopposed for another j term. j The secretary of the Wei- , lington Caretakers’ and j Cleaners’ Union (Mr P. J. Kelly) unexpectedly withdrew at the last minute. Another candidate, Mr R. V Gerdelan, the national secretary of the Harbour Boards Employees Union, also withdrew in a letter read to the conference. The withdrawals left Mr W. RCameron (Canterbury Meat Workers’ Union), Mr A. ’ Russ (Carpenters Union) and Mr E. G. Thompson (Waterfront Workers’ Feder- ’ ation) all due to retire by rotation, re-elected unopposed. Members of the executive who were not due to retire by rotation were Mrs Sonja Davies (Shop Employees’ Union), Mr J. Slater (Clen- ■ cal Workers’ Union), and Mr . w. J. Anton (Labourers I Union). The F.O.L.’s president (Mr . W. J. Knox) said it had been i a long time since an execu--1 tive had been returned unop- [ posed. He described it as a ’ victory for unity that would ; answer those who believed i the movement was split. In a brief address to the

conference, Mr Kelly said hei did withdraw because he I felt he had no contribution, to make to the executive.] Because of the significant! victory for the working class at Kinleith and “politics as they are in New Zealand at the moment” he considered the national executive should be returned. The conference was also told that if the Government implemented any more of the Industries Development Commission’s report on the New Zealand textile industry, it would spell the industry’s death blow. Mr F. B. Thorn, the national secretary, of The Clothing Workers’ Union said during discussion on the annual report that already the Government had extracted the bad parts of! the I.D.C. report and started to delicense the clothing industry. “I have asked the Government time and time again to call in both sides of the industry to talk about it, but it will go blindly ahead and implement the rest of the I.D.C. report which will spell the death blow to an industry which employs up to 40,000 people in this country.” In two weeks recently three factories had closed at Wanganui, affecting 180 machinists,, who were mostly women. Already, the Government had taken controls! off the imports of white wear, and infants and children’s clothing, Mr Thom said. Mr G. G. Walker, repreisenting the Fire 'Brigades

Employees’ Union, spoke of : a real fear of unemployment < developing in the South Island as whole industries 1 closed and ; trash” was imported from countries paying low wages. “We have created a monster in allowing these im-: ports of cheap goods into this country,” he said. Very little work was available for people in such places as Milton, Oamaru, and Timaru where industries were closing that had been there for 50 or 100 years, Mr Walker said. “To turn round and say to these people that their homes, their schools, everything they, had going, is being taken away just makes me sick,” he said. Such policies as the F.O.L. boycott on trade with Chile faded into insignificance “when you think of people’s homes, people’s jobs.” “It is no use having equal pay and equal opportunities (for women) and losing hundreds and hundreds of jobs because of the importation ■ of made-up goods from lowincome areas,” Mr Walker i said.

“If we don’t fight this, we are going to be cut off piecemeal. We should say ‘no’ to redundancy and say we want the stopping of these imports and keep the jobs of those people in those small towns.” it.' , The Labour Party would have to front up to the basic principles of the trade union movement if it expected support from the unions m the next General Election, Mr R. J. Campbell (Shop

Employees Union) told the conference. He was applauded when he described as “anti-union” statements coming from the party’s leaders. Their calls for controls on incomes were opposite to the F.O.L.’s policy. The party’s president (Mr J. P. Anderton) had said in an industrial relations journal that unions were not needed in a factory he owned. While it was important to work with the Labour Party, Mr Campbell said trade unionists could not be organised on behalf of the party unless it faced up to fundamental aspects of the union movement. “In other words, the Labour Party should be told that if it does not front up and face the basic principles of trade-union policy it is not entitled to expect sup- [ port in 1981.” The successful tenderer for finishing the Mangere ! bridge south of Auckland, i would have to talk to the ■ F.O.L. before work resumed, -Mr Knox said at the conference. . . .. j Work on the bridge . stopped two years ago be- • cause of a redundancy dis- » pute: the contractor, Wilkins > and Davies, Ltd, was ref leased from the contract in I May, 1979. Mr Knox said that the 1 Government was close to j choosing between four teni derers to resume work. The 1 F.O.L. would insist on agreei ments “right down the line i, —from a redundancy agree--5 ment to a site agreement.”