Labour Party seeks firmer ties with unions

Press, 28 May 1983, Page 1

Labour Party seeks firmer ties with unions

PA Wellington The Labour Party yesterday announced Amoves to strengthen its relationship with the trade union movement. i

The president of the Labour Party, ,-Mr J. P. Anderton, told reporters after the national council meeting that a one-day seminar with all interested unions would be held before the party’s annual conference in Auckland in September. i;

The meeting would aim to convince the union movement that real change for

working people could only be brought about by a change of government. The backing the Australian Labour Party received from the unions, at the last election had proved how effective such support could be in attaining victory, Mr Anderton said. The Australian unions had given the Labour Party support “financially, physically, and in a moral sense.”

The September meeting would seek to build the ground-work for a “close and co-operative relationship with the trade union

movement on the election of a Labour government and make it clear ... that the political act of electing a Labour government will, at a stroke, solve many of the problems of social injustice and inequality in terms of wages and salaries and conditions,” Mr, Anderton said. The Australian unions had shown “not only a level of financial commitment but a level of moral support which we have not experienced here in recent times, although the relationship between the trade union

movement and the Labour Party has been very close.” Mr Anderton said he was not criticising those unions which expressed their concerns through striking, but the message had to get across that “political action is in the end the most effective action.” “Some mutual trust and respect between the Government and the unions would help at the moment,” Mr Anderton said.

The Labour Party wanted to build the basis for the trust and respect now. “We at least will be able to show we can talk to the trade union movement — that’ll be a change.” Part of the problem the country now faced was the Government’s denying of a “positive and clear” role for the unions, Mr Anderton said.

“Negotiations in any meaningful sense are now farcical.”

Mr Anderton said all trade unions would be invited to take part in the day-long meeting in September, whether or not they were affiliated to the Labour Party.