ABLE TO STRIKE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 98, 27 April 1932, Page 10

ABLE TO STRIKE

LABOUR'S NEW POLICY

UNION BY INDUSTRY

AGAINST REGISTRATION

Somewhat like an echo of the days of quarter of a century ago, when militant labour sought the ending of the "craft unions" and the substitution of national unions, is the report of the open industrial, labour conference that -recently sat in Wellington.

Quarter of a century ago there was a cry of "get away from the enfeebling Arbitration Court," and "form strong, militant, national, unions unitedly controlled." To-day the Labour idea seems to be that the Arbitration is getting away of its own motion; wherefore militancy again raises its head with a policy of cancelling arbitration registrations and of concentrating power— a centripetal instead of a centrifugal policy.

There is no disguising the fact that the underlying principle of the report is United, control for purposes of enforcing the demands of departmentalised unions. It remains to tie seen "whether individual' unions or central controls —built up on a delegate basis— will actually frame the demands. The important question, about any Labour constitution is how it works in practice. One of the immediate objectives laid down in the report is: "Grouping of all ■workers in one industry into one industrial department, to be controlled by a joint council, which shall be representative of all unions in the group." Thus there "would be one united body for each industry, and over all would be a national control.

In any industry where already there 5s a federation or an association of labour embracing the whole industry, a national union is to be immediately organised. •

In the case of local unions not organised industrially or federally, there "will be delay. Such local unions are to cancel their registration under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, but "this will not be effected" till the higher control is organised as proposed in this revolutionary report. The Labour promoters aim to include a huge number of State employees iv the Post and Telegraph Officers' Association and three . second division unions of railwaymen.