Minister urged to resign

Press, 13 May 1981, Page 6

Minister urged to resign

Wellington reporter The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) had continually interfered in the job of the Minister of Labour (Mr 810 B l O g , e !’ ) -. and Mr Bolger should show some spirit and resign, the Labour spokesman on labour (Mr E E Isbey) told the Labour Party conference at Wellington yesterday. “He has certainly matched his counterpart across • the Tasman. Mr Malcolm eraser, in his own downgrading of his Minister of Labour" Mr Isbey said. Mr Muldoons continual interference was an attempt to reduce industrial relations to ,'bare-knuckled combat,” and had .antagonised wage earners everywhere.

"It is a pity that Mr Bolger does not emulate his Australian counterpart (Mr Andrew Peacock) and resign also," he-said.

Mr Isbey said that the Arbitration Court should be split into a layman’s arbitration commission dealing with awards, contracts, and remuneration in general

disputes of interest, and an industrial court to deal with disputes of rights and to act as an appeal authority. New Zealand mediation and arbitration services should be controlled by a central body, and resources and personnel devoted to it. All industrial legislation should be reviewed and a labour code drafted that would harmonise employers and unions.

The Labour spokesman on employment and technology, and member - of Parliament for the West Coast. Mr T. K. Burke, challenged Mr Bolger to .issue a report on unemployment prepared by the National Research and Advisory Council on Unemployment.

Instead. Mr Bolger had asked Link Associates to prepare a report which would be no more than a public relations exercise for the Government, Mr Burke said.

The Government was not conducting household surveys to find the true level of unemployment because it knew the results would em-

barrass the National Party — "never mind the public interest."

However, the former Minister of Labour (Mr Peter Gordon) had promised a household survey in 1975. Mr Burke said that the Government wanted to replace New Zealand labour with labour from countries under military dictatorships, in which no free trade unions existed, and decent wage rates could not be bargained for.

A Labour government would require all employers to give advance notice of technological innovations to trade unions as a basis for negotiations.

Mr Burke said that a National Government could not produce its promised 410,000 jobs in 10 years when its record for the last five had been the creation of only 17.000 jobs.

Under the National Government unemployment had increased 1200 times, and 143,000 New Zealanders had left permanently. 31,000 of whom possessed muchneeded skills.