MINISTERIAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1936, Page 5

MINISTERIAL

MR. ARMSTRONG'S VISIT.

[pep. press association.)

CHRISTCHURCH, June 19.

Hon. H. T. Armstrong, Minister of Labour, will next week visit the West Coast. Mr. Armstrong will arrive in Christchurch from Wellington on Saturday morning on his first visit, to the city for more than three months. He will spend the week-end in Christchurch, and on Tuesday will leave for the West Coast, where he will investigate a number of problems in connection with the relief of unemployment.

Regarding his visit to the West Coast, Mr. Armstrong advised that several problems had cropped up which required his personal attention in connection with unemployment relief works in the Buller district. He wished to see for himself if the Government would be justified in spending money on the extension of some of the schemes, particularly the development of the pakihi lands. He had never seen these lands, but experiments carried out by the Cawthron Institute had shown that they could be turned to profitable use if properly developed. It was a question of what assistance should be given from the employment promotion fund, and he wished to investigate the position on the spot. Mr. Armstrong said that he would return to Wellington, via Nelson.

POWER SUPPLY

CHRISTCHURCH, June 19. The administration of electric power supply will be investigated by the Minister of Public. Works, Hon. R. Semple, during the next Parliamentary recess, according to a statement made by him to-day. “It is another public service calling for reform, and pretty drastic reform at that,” said the Minister. “I intend to go fully into the matter with the view of creating a better form of control than opeartes at present. Today, it is both cumbersome and costly all over the country. There are quarrels among the local supply authorities, the Power Boards, and the Government. I am not prepared to say, at the moment, how it can best b? tackled; but, in the interests of the consuming public, it has to be tackled, and the sooner the better. I am satisfied that there are too many Power Boards, with too little to do, and at too great a cost. All of this needless cost is passed on to the consuming public.”

TRANSPORT CONTROL

WELLINGTON, June 19

The four new Transport Licensing Authorities, whose names were announced from Wellington by the Minister of Transport, Hon. R. Semple, will each receive a salary of £5OO yearly, in return for which they will ba required to devote their whole energies to their new duties. Mr. Semple said to-day that the Authorities were appointed for one year, “but they would ze ba reappoitned so long as they were found to be suitable. They would be paid travelling expenses. They also would be officers of the Transport Department. but would not be under the Public Service Commissioners. It would be a full-time job, and they must devote their whole attention to the re-organis-ation of tha transport system.” “I am the Appeal Board, taking the place of the old Transport Co-ordina-tion Board,” said Mr. Semple, referring to the new transport system of control. “By that, I am saving the nation £4OOO a year. Some have said that lam taking on too much work, and that I will never be able to see over the piles of appeals. With the proposed licensing machine operated by competent men of the type I have selected, there wil be few appeals.”

INDUSTRIAL AWARDS,

WELLINGTON, June 19

“Those firms and workers who are forming Guilds, with a view, to evading the new industrial legislation, are merely wasting their time and energy,” said the Minister of Labour, Hon. 11. T. Armstrong, in an interview to-night.

“Unless I am misinterpreting the law, they will find themselves subject to industrial awards. I have received many communications from all parts of New Zealand about the practice of certain firms, and some of their employees, with the advice of solicitors, in forming Guilds, in order to evade the amended industrial legislation,” said the Minister. “They form Guilds. Then they meet, and make an agreement, which is registered under the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913. It appears, on the surface, that such agreements are binding, and will be exempt from the terms of industrial awards made under the amended Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. These people think that they can get outside of the amended legislation, but as far as interpretation is concerned, I think that they cannot get outside of the new legislation at all. I will go further, and say that they arc wasting their time. I have discussed the matter with my colleagues in Cabinet, and I have legislation ready to deal with the situation, so that such agreements made under the Labour Disputes Investigation Act, 1913, will be declared null and void.”

RAILWAYMEN’S HOURS. WELLINGTON, June IS. In a brief interview this evening, the Minister of Railways (the Hon. D G. Sullivan) denied a Christchurch report that he had told a deputation from the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants that it would be impossihi to apply the principle of the 40-honr week to railway servants. Mr. Sull’ van indicated that the stage had not yet been reached where the proposal could be given a definite reply. Before any decision can be made there are a great many important factors which have to b? taken into account. RESTORATION OF CUTS WELLINGTON, June 19. The cuts made in the salaries of Members of Parliament during the depression will be restored in the same way as those for other workers, in the legislation which will be brought down by the Government, when Parliament resumes towards the end of July. As with other salaries and wages, Members will have retrospective payment from July 1. This Was indicated by the Prime

Minister (Mr. Savage) in an interview to-day. "The Bill restoring -wages to the 1931 level will not be in the form of amending legislation, but will be a separate new measure entirely,” Mr Savage said. “We intend that the 'restoration in Public Service and outside it should be effected by one Bill. It is natural that Members of Parliament will be included in the legislation, for like other workers they suffered cuts during the depression.” ' Mr. Savage made it clear that the Government would take any steps necessary to ensure that the workers were not victimised because of the increase in wages following restoration, and that the Government would not countenance -dismissals purely on the ground that they were warranted by the increase. It was not likely, he said that the Government would pave the way for workers and wage earners generally to benefit, and then allow that benefit to be taken away from them.

PACIFIC SHIPPING

WELLINGTON. June 19

“The Government has an open mind on the question of subsidising Pacific Shipping, in association with the other Governments concerned,” said the Prime Minister (Mr. Savage) in an interview to-night, when his attention was drawn to a London .message stating that the Canadian Pacific Steamships Limited was prepared to place two ships in tlie Pacific if the British and Dominions' Governments reached an agreement regarding a subsidy. “So far we have received no request of a definite enough kind for us to be able to get a hold and do something,” Mr. Savage said. "We iiave no intention, however, of going into the question with our eyes shut. The nature of the service must first be considered, and tnen full consideration must be given to the conditions affecting all parties. We must be assured of a suitable service in return for the assistance we are asked to give. For instance, we must be certain that we will get a service which can compete with other lines, i Naturally, the question of labour conditions on the ships used in the service must be considered, particularly the question of giving employment to New Zealanders. We want to he sure the men employed on any service in which we are interested are working under conditions which are in accord with the New Zealand standard. L’nlil a definite proposal has been submitted to the Government it would be futile to discuss details, but the Government is prepared to consider concrete suggestions for the maintenance of an adequate British shipping service in the Pacific." |