F.O.L. displays patient mood

Press, 12 May 1984, Page 1

F.O.L. displays patient mood

By

MICHAEL HANNAH

in Wellington Industrial disputes took a back seat to the goal of ensuring that a Labour government is elected this year, at the Federation of Labour’s forty-seventh annual conference which concluded in Wellington yesterday. To be sure, support was voiced for the localised strikes attempting to break the wage freeze, such as the Wellington cleaners’ strike, and for the meat workers’ rolling stoppages aimed at drawing the freezing industry back to award negotiations. Collections were taken up during the four-day conference for the Wellington cleaners, and the F.O.L. president, Mr W. J. Knox, briefly rattled the sabre with a reference to a national strike. He quickly dispelled any notion that a national walk-out was imminent, however, by warning unionists that they must be sure of members’ support for action "of such magnitude.”

Mr Knox’s caution highlighted one of the main preoccupations of the conference: the need to ensure that a Labour government is returned in the General Election in November. The F.O.L. came out from the conference with a mood of unity, patience and little hint of any major industrial upheaval. If the F.O.L. set out to achieve a low-key approach to the problems facing unions, it succeeded, but at the same time managed to satisfy those members who prefer direct action to mere sabre-rattling. The Wellington cleaners’ strike was an example. It was fully supported by the conference, but it is localised, and in recent days has become even more concentrated to individual buildings. The clue to the cleaners’ strategy lay in a comment by the union’s secretary, Mr Pat Kelly, delivered to the conference yesterday. He likened the limiting of the strike to particular cleaning contracts as “capturing” cities. The language of a national strike was applied

to a very local dispute, and it gained delegates’ support. The low profile on industrial disputes was also reflected in the fact that only two card votes were called during the four-day conference. The first concerned the first resolution before the conference; restricting news media coverage of open debates. The second related to the F.O.L.’s definition of “sexual harassment.” Both debates were hotly contested, though the latter was limited by a conference resolution restricting the number of speakers to debates. But neither issue related to a current industrial or political dispute, and a greater contrast could not have been painted from last year’s conference, which was taken up with strongly worded opposition to the wage freeze. Behind all this lay the F.O.L.’s concern that the union movement do nothing to destroy the Labour Party’s chances of being returned to the Treasury benches.

Labour is shouldered with the expectations of many unionists, even before it has promised anything. The release of the party’s industrial policy provided some positive goals, such as the repeal of legislation regarded as “anti-union,” but the promise of reviews and consideration of some matters without definite commitments, may risk leaving some unionists’ expectations of a Labour government too high. The effects of the Industrial Law Reform Act and voluntary unionism was an undercurrent at the conference. Concern was expressed about the possible loss of support from members, and delegates talked of the exhaustion caused by drumming up membership in far-flung unions. A note of desperation crept into several delegates’

speeches, and Labour may be the recipient of high expectations from these groups. But other delegates chastised their fellows for expecting that laws returning compulsory unionism, would compensate for the shortcomings of unions themselves. Hints emerged from the conference that a different form of compulsory unionism is being contemplated by labour leaders. The Auckland Trades Council president, Mr G. H. Andersen, called for “flexibility” in returning to the unqualified preference clause, but he declined to explain later what he meant by “flexibility.” The conference left the impression that many other delegates were looking for reassurance from their colleagues in the F.O.L. The appearance of the Labour Party’s leaders at the conference was warmly welcomed. However, the Leader, Mr Lange, and

Deputy Leader, Mr Palmer, got more attention than they may have bargained for because the party’s president, Mr J. P. Anderton, who was also scheduled to address the conference (a “first” for a party president), remained stranded by bad weather in Christchurch. The conference also reflected the increasing participation of women in trade union ranks, a trend noted by Mr Knox in his closing address. Although they did not appear in big numbers at the conference, women delegates were prominent and articulate in debates. They also showed they could offer the union movement a different perception and approach to some debates, and their increasing participation and strength — as reflected in the vote on sexual harassement — point to subtle changes ahead for the F.O.L.