Many Protests From Unions Against Secret Ballot Bill

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 August 1947, Page 4

Many Protests From Unions Against Secret Ballot Bill

[SPECIAL TO STAR]

WELLINGTON, This Day

The Government is now receiving numerous protests from individual unions against the proposed legislation introducing compulsory secret ballots iff strikes. These include complaints that the new amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act is couched in such general terms that it is not clear over what field strike ballots would actually require to be taken, and, further, that the amendment would, in effect, regard union officials as guilty men requiring to prove their innocence in the case of a strike.

This, the union officials claim, is contrary to the established British principle that any man is innocent of an offence against the law until proved guilty. Officials of some organisations have consulted existing rules, and report that, of 400 trade unions affiliated to the Federation of Labour, about 300 already have provision in their rules for secret ballots. New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union officials report that any member of their union has the right to call for a secret ballot.

Further strenuous efforts are being made to persuade the Government to amend its proposals, but there is no sign that it will do so. Meanwhile, there are some sections of the trade union movement still prepared to differ from the majority and accept the Government’s amendment as it stands.