Closed-shop unions will be prohibited

Press, 17 August 1983, Page 1

Closed-shop unions will be prohibited

PA Wellington Closed-shop unions will be prohibited under the voluntary unionism legislation proposed by the Minister of Labour, Mr Bolger.

The possibility of closed shops, where only cardcarrying union members would be allowed into a work place, has been cited by critics Of the legislation as one reason why it should not go ahead. Speaking after meeting the Federation of Labour executive, Mr Bolger said yesterday that the legislation he was working on did not cater for legal closed shops. He intended to write a prohibition clause into the law.

Mr Bolger said he expected to gain total caucus support for his proposals. “They have accepted the proposal on youth rates. They accepted in principle my proposal on voluntary unionism and they will make their final decision when they see the details of the legislation,” he said. The Federation of Labour’s president, Mr W. J. Knox, speaking immediately after meeting Mr Bolger for the first time since changes to industrial relations law were mooted, had . gained a different impression. Mr Bolger had admitted

“he’s got to get more endorsement from the caucus before he can do anything else,” Mr Knox said. He said he thought the Government was intent on introducing the changes, and would do everything in its power to push them through.

Mr Knox would not comment on the details of the discussions with Mr Bolger. He said the Government’s intentions had been discussed and the F.O.L. was now aware of some of the steps the Government planned to take. “We have now requested that the Minister put some of the discussions we’ve had, and the answers to the questions that we asked, in writing. “When we get that we will then discuss it at executive level, at national council level and then we’ll come back to the Minister on how we feel on what he has set out.”

Mr Knox suggested that the Government could have problems with the legislation. “I have the feeling that the job is so big that they’re

not just too sure how to go about bringing in some amendments to various parts of the Industrial Relations Act,” he said. However, Mr Bolger said he did not anticipate any problems and the legislation would probably be brought into Parliament in two or three weeks. It would then go to a select committee and it was hoped to have it passed into law by the end of the year, he said. Mr Bolger said the talks had "not in any substance” altered the Government’s thinking on the issue, although the F.O.L. had made one or two points worthy of consideration. He said he wanted the F.O.L. “to apply their minds to the question of whether or not what I’m proposing is going to be harmful to the New Zealand work-force. I don’t believe it is — I think it is going to be helpful.”

Mr Knox reiterated that there was no way the trade unions or the F.O.L. would support voluntary unionism or adjustment to youth rates.