THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

Evening Star, Issue 21966, 28 February 1935, Page 3

THE LABOUR MOVEMENT

(By Trade Unionist.) WATERSIDE LABOUR. “ Track Unionist ” had the privilege of an interesting chat with the president of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Federation, Mr L. Glover, who was in Dunedin during the early part of this week. Mr Glover has had a wi tie experience of waterside workers' problems, being national president of this organisation for the past nineteen years, and is well qualified to speak on behalf of the 6.000 workers employed on the waterfronts of the dominion. Mr Glover was in Dunedin in conncction with the above proposal, and to explain a scheme that is at present un officially in operation on the Auckland and Wellington wharves—i.e., the limitation of working hours of waterside workers-on wharves to thirty hours a week. In the course of the chat Mr Glovei stated that in the past much disconeni has been prevalent amongst many oi his workers over the present unequal share of work being obtained by them, and his visit here has been to outline a scheme which, if adopted, wilj equalise the employment so that all the workers affected will get a better share. The scheme referred to in Wellington and Auckland has the approval of the two uhions concerned, and is at present under trial, and has been in operation in Auckland for about fifteen months and in Wellington from four to six months. ' .. For a long time tho decasuausation or waterside workers has had the consideration of a number of thoughtful people throughout the world. According to a document issued by the International Transport Workers Federation, dated December 21, 1934, the Swedish Transport Workers’ Union has been grappling with this problem fqr many years. Varying economic conditions, it is explained, have retarded its efforts, principally the. war period, and lately the depression, under which the workers employed on tho waterfronts oi Sweden have suffered frightful periods of unemployment. However, the report states that at. present they are making some progress. The employers all along have maintained the unrestricted right to conduct and allocate the work and freely engage and dismiss labour, but as a result of negotiations regulations have been drafted and are now available for scrutiny in tho “ calling on room or some other suitable place. These provide that the work shall be distributed among the regular workers as equally as possible, so that each man shall be given an opportunity as far as the amount of work permits to achieve an equal share of equally wol "j so that the men of equal ability and equal zeal shall have equal earnings. In Australia the problem has been receiving some attention, and according to a report'drafted by the Federal Attorney General in .1933, some proposals had been inaugurated to decasualise the enormous aggregations ot workers concentrated on the Australian wharves as a result of the break up ot the Waterside Workers’ Unions in that epuntry through the 1927-28 strike. An arbitration judge, in referring to the immense overcrowding in the industry, urged the parties to attempt to devise some scheme of organising interchangeable gangs on a weekly wage basis, in doing so he addressed himself especially to the employers, strongly counselling them to seek a more humane and, at. the same time,_ a ’ more economical scheme of organisation. * * * * EX-SECRETARY OF NEW ZEALAND LABOUR PARTY. Mr Moses.Ayton, who was in Dunedin last week attending the Methodist Lonference, was the first national secretaiy of f the New Zealand Labour Party elected under the now' constitution and rules' after. an agreement had been arrived at between the Social Democrat Party and th United Labour Party in 1914-5. 'Mr'M, J. Savage, the present leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party, held the office temporarily until Mr Ayton was elected. Mr Ayton also stood as an • official Labour candidate for Palmerston North in 1919 against Mr J. A. Nash, who is now the sitting member, and he held the position of national secretary for about four years until Mr Walter Nash, the present member for Hutt, succeeded him. Mr Ayton is now associated with the Methodist Church at Tai-Tapu, Canterbury. He still maintains his interest and enthusiasm for the cause he so fearlessly championed during the early history of tho present New Zealand Labour Party. He informed “ Trade Union.ist ** during a talk last w©ek that his 'general health is not so good as in the old days, and he therefore cannot render the same personal service to the movement that he used to. However, he occasionally takes a trip to Christchurch to give short addresses on the aims and objects; of the Labour movement. * * » • FUSION OF AUSTRALIAN LABOUR PARTIES. Members of the Federal Executive of the Australian Labour Party met at-the beginning of February in Sydney (says the ‘ Australian Worker ’) and discussed ways and means of restoring unity in the Australian Labour movement. Tho meeting was called following a request by the Victoria branch of the A.L.P. that the Federal Executive should instruct the New South Waes branch of the Federal Labour Party to withdraw its candidates for the New South Wales State elections and allow the Now South Wales State Labour Party (or the Lang Party) to contest the poll without any exposition from the rederal Labour Party. It was stated that this request had the support of the Soutn Australian and Tasmanian Labour parties. Finally a lengthy conference was held between representatives of the two organisations, and the various points at issue were thrashed out. _ The latest information is that unless an unforeseen hitch occurs at the eleventh hour aft agreement _ between the parties is imminent, providing for the restoration of unity in the Labour movement in New South_ Wales. The proposed agreement provides that the State Labour Party shall accept the constitution, rules, and policy of tho Australian Labour movement, and recognise the A.L.P. executive as the governing authority. It also provides for the withdrawal of all Federal Labour candidates from the forthcoming State elections, the absorption of the Federal Labour Party branch in New South Wales by the State Labour Party, and the recognition of the State Labour Party as the official New South Wales branch of tho Australian Labour Party. * » .* * WORKERS’ REPRESENTATIVES FOR GENEVA. According to a Press Association message, the Government has agreed to New Zealand having three representatives at the International Labour Conference to be held at Geneva about the middle of the year. Mr J. Roberts on a previous occasion represented the workers of the dominion, and was ap-

pointed an emergency officer on the International Executive for the workers. Mr T. 0. Bishop, the secretary of the New Zealand Employers’ Association, is at orcsent the emergency delegate on behalf of the employers on the executive, and is filling the place of a South African member of the executive at Geneva who has been unable to attend. “ Trade Unionist ” is unable to ascertain at present whether Mr Roberts will be available as tho New Zealand workers’ delegate on this occasion. If not. it will be hard to prophesy at the time of writing who would be likely to be Labour’s choice. There will pvobablv be a number of aspirants for the trip, and the selection will be decided by ballot taken by the Labour Department amongst the industrial unions registered under the I.C. and A._ Act on the franchise set out in the Arbitration Act for the election of a workers’ renresentative to the Arbitration Court. * * * * TRADE UNION PLEDGE. “ Trade Unionist ” has heard a rumour that several large industrial organisations in tho dominion are moving in the direction, of extracting a pledge of loyalty to majority, decisions from the individual members of the respective organisations to be given m writing on their entrance. Readers of this column will have noticed recently several cases in which court proceedings have been taken by persons against some of tho unions arising out of these •persons flouting the decisions of the union concerned, carried by an overwhelming majority of members. The position now is that men are admitted to the various unions without giving any pledge of fidelity or . loyalty- to the union. They are simply asked to pay on entrance fee, and are admitted and continued as members by paying subsequent contributions. It is considered that .if .a pledge bad been extracted from'members of unions much money could have been saved in legal expenses and bitterness that has been engendered in the past would have been avoided. In the New Zealand Labour Partv a written pledge is insisted upon, and has had the effect of keeping out of the party peonle who do not whole-heartedly endorse its platform, principles, and decisions. * * * * TRADE UNION BANDS. Apropos of the band c'pntest just concluded at Timaru, readers of this column may be interested to know that there exist in New Zealand to day two trade union bands—viz,, the Auckland and Bluff Waterside Workers Bands. The first-named, I am informed, is a really good B grade, if .not an A grade band. It has in tho past given its services to functions held under the auspices of the Auckland Labour movement, and is quite an attraction at Auckland’s Labour Day sports and waterside workers’ picnics. _ The A grade band championship was held by the Wellington Watersiders Band, now defunct, which it won at a contest in Wellington. The band later visited Dunedin to take part in a contest here, and during the contest it will be remembered that its instruments were taken to satisfy a judgment summons arising out of a prosecution instituted by Messrs Gould and M’Gee. at that time members of the Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union, for refusal to pay an industrial protection fund levy that had been struck by the Waterside Workers’ Federaion. An interesting and pathetic little episode took place on the Caledonian Grounds. Just as tho band was about to play in the quickstep competition, the bailiff approached the bandmaster and presented him with the order for the confiscation of the instruments, with the result that the band con d not compete. Without, exception, all tho other bands in the quickstep offered the trade union band tlio loan of their instruments to compete against them, but, of course, the offer was not acceptable, as the bandsmen concerned could not do themselves justice oh instruments to which they were not used. However, it was considered at the time by those who witnessed the episode as a magnificent example of camaraderie. The instruments were recovered later bv the Wellington Waterside Workers Union and kept in storage for some years. Eventually they were sold to a Wellington suburban hand, which was unable to meet the payments, resulting in the instruments again becoming the property of the W.W.U., who finally disposed of them to the present Bluff Waterside Workers’ Band. , The' present Port Nicholson Band is an offshoot of the old Wellington band reorganised, with rew instruments obtained during the period that the original instruments were unavailable. “Trade Unionist” is of the opinion that the Labour movement lost a valuable asset in this band, owmg to the unfortunate legal proceedings against the W.W.U. It has been said by music lovers that the original band attained a very high standard in music, one that the present band has since not been able to, reach. . . * • • LABOUR PARTY’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE.. “Trade Unionist” has just had placed in bis hands a copy of the remit paper distributed by the head office ot the New Zealand Labour Party to all its affiliations. The conference has been called to open at Wellington on Monday April 22. Tho nominations lor the official positions, include for president seven candidates as follows :—Mr T. Armstrong, M.P. (retiring pres-dent),. Messrs J. Munro, A. S. Richards, W. Nash, M.P.s and T. Bnndlo and J. Roberts of Wellington. For vice-presi-dent there are sixteen nominations,, including Mrs E. ■R. M’Combs, M.P. Mr J. Thorn is unopposed for tne position of national secretary. 1* or the central executive (five are required) twenty-one persons have been nominated, this list including, three women. The principal business lor discussion at the conference is the proposed Labo-w - s plan for New Zealand. There are also forty-six remits, dealing with banking, prices, productive employment, and rational distribution. The other questions to be dealt with will be: Method and means of returning Labour to power; method and means of carrying out Labour’s plan when elected The Otago Labour Represention Committee and the Dunedin North branch have each sent four remits for consideration.