ONE BIG UNION

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 136, 5 December 1918, Page 2

ONE BIG UNION

\ SEAMEN'S RECENT BALLOT AFFILIATION WITH LABOUR PARTY* An important decision ha* been reached by a ballot ju»fc taken by the Federated. Seamen's Union of. New Zealand. The members have decided to form the Wellington, Auckland, and ; Dunedin "locals" into ono big union, to affiliate with the Transport Workers'- Advisory Board, and to join the New Zealand Labour Party. Following are the details of the ballot:— . Union of "Locale.','■—ln favour, 966; against, 141; informal, 7. Affiliation with. .Transport Workers' Advisory.) Board^-^ln favourV 861; against, 220; 'S informal, 33. Affiliation with N.Z.-Lab-our Party-^lri favour, 870;. agajnst, 212; informal, 32. . The papers for the ballot were issued in the third week in October, and the ballot closed an ljt December. A. Parlane was the returning officer, Aad Messrs., H Ohard and Mr. J. Seal were the pcratiheers. The union is now asking for an alteration of the Industrial Arbitration Act to meet the new; conditions. Speaking to a reporter; i Mr. W. T. Young (general secretary of the union) 6aid that representations had been made by the executive in this direction to the Government in 1915, 1917, and again this year So far as the executive could gather, the Acting-Minister for Labour (the Hon. Mi 1. Herries) and head officials of the Labour Department were somewhat favourably disposed towards the project, recognising that the ocenpation of seamen carries them to all quarters of the Dominion. Wh(»n the matter had been put before the Acting-Minister for Labourl (the Hon. Mr. Herries), he said he would refer it ft Mr. Mawey on his return from England, but it was quite possible the Prime Minister had been too busy to deal'with it yet. Mr Young said that the voting on the question of affiliation with the New Zealand Labour Party gave one an Wea of the strong feeling ; existing among seamen for a Labour Party in Parliament. He also mentioned that quite a . large number of members were away in transports, hospital ships, and vessels trading to India- and America, and had been unable to record their vates. The members of the executive were satisfied that if these absent men had voted the majority on each issue would have been much larger. : The Wellington "local" of th» union affiliated with the Wellington Labour Representation Committee yesterday.