F.O.L. fears 'union bashing’ by employers

Press, 17 February 1984, Page 4

F.O.L. fears 'union bashing’ by employers

PA Wellington The Federation of Labour has attacked new broadcasting rules allowing paid advertising by parties in industrial disputes. “The question of balance in news reporting in industrial disputes is of central concern to the trade union movement,” said the president of the F.0.L., Mr W. J. Knox, yesterday.

The rules, which became effective on February 6, have freed up both political and industrial advertising. The Broadcasting Corporation’s head of programme standards, Mr Peter Fabian, said that advertising which denigrated any other party in a dispute would not be allowed. However, Mr Knox said the changed rules world enable employers to “pour out their propaganda through paid time on radio and television.”

Big employers had immense resources which Mr

Knox said would be used to distort the truth of disputes between unions and employers. The unions would be unable to pay for a reply. The broadcasting rules committee would be asked to clarify the matter and to explain why they had had no consultation with the F.O.L.

The F.O.L. hoped that the rules would be reassessed after discussion.

“Otherwise we are going to have’ a country where public opinion can be bought whether it be to rally support for wealthy Right-wing political parties seeking to be the government or to crush the legitimate struggles of trade unions and their workers for a better deal,” Mr Knox said.

The president of the Employers’ Federation, Mr Garry Tait, said Mr Knox’s claims were a “load of nonsense.”