Strike would be ‘dearly liked’

Press, 7 March 1984, Page 4

Strike would be ‘dearly liked’

PA Auckland Union and employer leaders exchanged sharp words in Auckland yesterday about recent developments in voluntary unionism and the tripartite wagereform talks. Addressing about 800 combined union officials and delegates at Ellerslie racecourse the president of the Auckland Trades Council, Mr G. H. Andersen, said that he would “dearly” like to organise a general strike. However, he thought that the time was not right. Mr Andersen, a Federation of Labour executive member, said the union movement should pick on an industry to seek a wage increase. The president of the Auckland Employers’ Association, Mr W. Jarvie,

after an association meeting, dismissed Mr Andersen’s remarks. “If he is not going to call a general strike why talk about one? What kite is he flying?” he said. “If he is going to set about acting against one particular industry for a wage rise, I would say he is being irresponsible.” Mr Andersen said, “If we have a general strike how many would we get to effectively support it? How long would it be until someone wins? ... until someone was knocked out? "It would be a very intense encounter with all the forces of the State being used against us.” Mr Jarvie meanwhile criticised unions for their stance in various strikes about voluntary unionism.

“In these situations there is nothing the employer can do. He cannot talk to the worker who has left the union, because if he does it could be held to be undue influence,” he said. Mr Jarvie said that he believed it was a union’s responsibility to protect workers whether or not they were union members. “If they do so and do it well, that non-member may want to join the union as a result,” he said.

Unions and workers were as responsible as employers for keeping a business productive, he said. The F.O.L. was researching figures to formulate a wage claim, trade unionists were told. Mr Andersen said that when the research was completed, taking into account

tax changes on income, a percentage claim would be established. No indication of, the amount of the claim was given. The meeting had followed the F.O.L’s change of approach last week to give preference to an immediate general wage rise from April 1, instead of pushing for a limited wage bargaining round later this year. ’ Figures produced at the meeting by the federation’s vice-president, Ms Sonja Davies, showed losses in real wages up to $22 a week for a worker on $175 a week since the freeze began in 1982. A skilled worker on $2Bl a week was losing $29 to $37 a week, or 15 to 18 per cent of wages.