Greymouth Evening Star. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1947 Jungle Law

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 February 1947, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1947 Jungle Law

pURTHER developments on the waterfront, which are forecast by our special Wellington correspondent in a report published to-day, can be awaited only with the gravest misgiving. The union—and with it the Leftist elements in the Labour Party—has registered a triumph against the Government and has paved the way for direct action by other sections of industrial labour which may have occasion to disagree with the decisions of a. constitutionally-appointed authority. By averting a general strike on the waterfront, which might have spread —abetted by the Red-controlled Waterside. Workers’ Union in Australia—throughout the industrial organisation in the Dominion, the Government has possibly saved the country from a damaging upheaval, but in doing so it has paid a price for its uncertain salvation that promises to bear more heavily on itself and the country—as time goes on. Capitulation to force, from whatever direction it-is applied, simply means a return to the jungle law of might is right, and any Government that countenances that sort of thing cannot complain if it .loses respect, even among its own supporters. The silence of Mr. Fraser at this stage can be contrasted with the vehemence of his utterances during the earlier phase of the protracted dispute. In his place has emerged another Minister, Mr. McLagan, who has provided ample evidence of his advance to power. He in effect usurped the functions of the Waterfront Commis-

sion by re-writing its decision. In secret conclave with the union representatives he arrived at an agreement without any consultation. with the Commission, which the Government itself had constituted to deal with conditions on the waterfront. Is it to be assumed that any . constitutionallyappointed authority will be so dealt with in future, should the unionists coming under its jurisdiction not find favour with its decisions? The waterfront dispute has been settled, but not solved. Work on the wharves will continue in the meantime at the same leisurely pace, more demands will be made on Ihe Government and history will probably repeat itself. It is apparent that lliis country is not at the end. but Iho beo’inning, of a period of industrial turbulence.

Production Per Man-Hour ■THE Minister of Industries and ComK merce, Mr. Sullivan, has at long last t?iven public recognition to what he is pleased to describe as the vital need of the moment —higher production per manhour. Speaking to the Manufacturers Federation conference at Wellington yesterday, he said that the maintenance of or improvement of the output of the available labour force was the only possible immediate solution, as he saw it, to the production problem. It is not to be supposed that the Minister has not been aware of this need for some considerable time; neither is it, to be supposed that at least some leading members of the Government do not regret, their hasty concessions to demands which have, limited the effectiveness of the present labour force and thereby created serious economic problems. ’The great majority of the workers do seek to do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. But they often . suffer from the slackness and. irresponsibility of the minority. They are often, too, the sufferers from misguided loyalty to a policy dictated by extreme elements in union leadership. They have in some cases also to carry the slackers and this is demoralising—and demoralisation spreads. In effect industry in general is to-day dominated by Hie bad worker, and employers and good workers alike are penalised. The whole community suffers. The problem is largely a moral one but there are practical means which should be used to check the levelling process which diminishes the rewards of the more industrious. The Minister in his address to manufacturers yesterday said he considered that “ a well-devised system of incentivn Twiv ofl-pi*« the besit urospects of sccur-

ing higher man-hour production.’ It has apparently not occurred to him that the Government itself should offer incentive to workers to earn incentive pay. The high rates of taxation, the penal taxation on the product of thrift and the inability to spend extra earnings on things that he would like to have all combine to give the average man the impression that it is not worthwhile to work harder and longer. The take-home value of the extra pay, after deductions to help to fill the State s coffers, is reduced to a level that, many hold, does not provide a return commensurate with the extra effort involved. Another practical step towards a solution of the present production problem would be taken if the Government would call a halt to its policy of excessive industrialisation and cease multiplying enterprises. There are already 24,000 vacancies and commonsense alone should suggest the futility of further spreading the already inadequate labour force.