PREFERENCE QUESTION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 21, 19 October 1907, Page 4

PREFERENCE QUESTION.

HARBOUR BOARD AND LABOUR UNION '' " ! A NON-COMMITTAL MOTION A special meeting of tho Harbour-Board ' was held yesterday afternoon to consider correspondence N from jtne AYliarf -Labourers 1 •Union, seeking preference' of -employment over non-Unionists; and to receive; a deputation from the other employers.of .wharf labour*, and resolutions submitted by,.them.The-, •Board decidod to discuss tho matter,'in com- - mittee. -r ..y.'ji.' , Ac.?'--. . ,i On f resuniing. in- open, meeting' thdscliairmari.v (Hon. :T. K. jia^lffiMd)V ; 'repprted,-that.:tba': following resolution.had icon:'agreed to ;H ■ 'Two Motions;--"*r» VfUpj li-pl&y't-"That it is unnecessary.!to^express m . opinion.-, on the of j'jj preference .;?ito, : t) nioni sts;; and that.. the.;quostioii' bi>' left" to -,'' -the Arbitration Court to'decide." '? ■ ,v,Ho moved -uat,. the resolution be,approved;'-, Tho Hon. T. AV! Hislop,'mqyed as.ail'amend-;, ■ ment; that 'tile i'oport:.'bej n'ot.,approved. . In • doing so he said ho regretted''that thby had;' not carried tho other motion'nim-ed in cpm- . mittee;'namoly—"That the Board is prepared to agree to preference- to thb Union 'upon condition that a satisfactory'-agreement bo coma to with regard to admission •to ;and tion of- membership'-hi; tho iUriibn,' and' iii;>e-.V gard tti'other matters'affecting the-relations.' 1 : of .'.'the iioard with?; casual - ■ employees. .. He.thought it wbulil<be-'.farl better'to-make ' some 'such arrangement a's : suggested-.than- to relegate the matter to an butsido'''authority; An arrangement with the to, the' advantage -of'-all- concerned.:;;-. J - Mr. 'Fletcher seconded ; the : amendment, \nd;l. urged : that' not 'billy- <would it ■ to'grant preference ift ••Unionists,) 'but it-would' be better all round.'- 'As : far -as tho Unionists wore - concerned thoy had. for years ' been striving-hard to iniprp.ve.-, s thp ( , lot pf v .tho., workers, arid it \i-as ,only fair that they' should' ■ receive'some encouragement-.'' v " l ' ' "Mr! Shirtcliffo said the relations between the Board and its employees had always been of a cordial iia'turo>' and lib did' not see-that there had been any general' request for an alteration in tho present method. ~ _ The ■ Unionists employed by-the'Board aiid other employers on tho wharves' formed only a 'very .small proportion; of. the total. lliey ought not to subordinate tho'; interests ot the 1500 non-Unionists to-the'advantage of i-he oQO or 600 Uunionistsy ••. , , , _.. . The; Arbitration Court. , . - The 'whole question could .be thoroughly threshed out before' the Arbitration 1 Court, -which was a competent aiid'impartial tribune. The Board ought not- to prejudge the question,: but should' leave' it 1 entirely.-to the Court. 'Furthermore;'ho"would'like to see tho'result of the experiment. being, made in 'Auckland,' before :fbllowing that example. Mr! M'Lellan said tlie'y boon' asked to " treat the men as men." When, he would like to know, had - the'. Board. ::t'rbhtedi them as anything else? Tho men could all be made Unionists 1 without, going to; if. the- ; Union desirpd -to 'do thatV* Why did not t*« „ •Union make alb tlic luoii UnionistsP It would bo tlie'siriiplest'thing possible for tliciii to do so.' Thei-'p was- no parallel.''between- tho labourers' and'- the' tramway -employees, to whom refcrenco had been' made.'- As ft body "■ of employers-tlioy'should-not-show'the. way to tho-'City Council. The Board .treated the'moil as ! imm'. 'Tlioy got Is. 2s; an' hour 'overtime.'' The "tranijvay employees "did not get'that much. \Vliy, then, did not the Council ;" treat them like men _ ?■ Tliere was not 1 the slightest necessity for the Board- to lay down a' hard-and-fast rulo as to Vv'hcthcr Unionists should preference -or not. '-"They had tried before, find could not; come to any agreement. The' position the Board had tiikcn : 'tip was absolutely'sound, c ■Thero was no necessity for.the Union -to-go - to the Court—let them bring air the "workers 1 into tho Union. Ho hopdd thoro'would'be ? no liioi'e talk about' ill-treatment' jf ,workers' bccauso' i it was not'true.: ". Neither Hot; nor Coltl." ' Mr. Hislbp, in reply," said : it would bermu'eh more enlightened-'to come 1 to' an' agreement with the men, instead of going to tlife'Arbitration Court, whore- matt-era were fought but. And wherever there was 'lighting, there was 'a good,.deal of .bitterness.■ Personally, lip would -prefer, to seo the y/holc bodyjof - workers .members of. tho Union, because jtha--/ "advantages. gained would' then ;gb,.t0.,a11., / The resolution from committee, was:-neither hot 1 nor, cold;, thoy had,, not., the,,;backbono to say whether they favoured or,opposed .. the Union..- lie could understand Mr. M'Lel- ■ lan, who. .was. against, all kinds-, of., union-, . amongst men. • " Mr. M'Lellan: That is not.true; you liayo,no right .to say. that. - Mr.'.Hislop replied that Mr. M'Lellap practically said that it was no use ,dealing with Unionists.. But Unionists werp,like anybody else—treat, them reasonably, and they, would., act 'reasonably. , He- would graiit preference . to' unionists on. .condition. .that tliey made.,.. their rules'reasonable in. regard to .'outsiders,: iind the Board., , ... ;. ...-- ~ - '|-r. •'Tho"amendment Was ,-put,. and, 105t..-,! The motion to adopt the resolution i the chairman was then _ carried, Messrs. Hislop and Fletcher dissenting.