Greymouth Evening Star. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1949. Ugly Forces At Work In N.Z.

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 November 1949, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1949. Ugly Forces At Work In N.Z.

TIUHAT has really alarmed the Federation of Labour is the prospect that the people will elect a Government strong enough to enforce industrial democracy. The National Party plans to protect the mass of the workers from domination by a militant, aggressive minority—that, and no more. Hence, the attempt by the federation leaders to stampede the people into rejecting a practical proposal "to establish a system under which all workers will be enabled to express their views without fear of victimisation.

The fact that the Federation of Labour can find in the National Party’s industrial policy nothing more to attack than points of democratic procedure raises the question whether it is genuinely desirous of having the activities of Communists and their fellow-travellers hindered by democratic vote. Indeed, the silence of the Labour-Socialist Government leaders themselves on the issues raised by an ugly, provocative declaration against the leader of a party who aims to protect the interests of the gredt mass of genuine workers can only be interpreted as connivance with the men responsible for making it. The Prime Minister and a few of his colleagues—a. few only —have been loud in their. fulminations against the ■Communists and their fellow-travellers, but they have so far failed in the crucial test o’f their genuineness. Action, not words, counts, and electors may search both the record of the Government and its election manifesto and find not one practical proposal for dealing with the most serious industrial problem of the day —the problem of making industrial democracy work as it is meant to work. Is This The. Reason?

If . a National Party Government is returned to power, it will be by the will of the people. That being so, the Federation of Labour’s attitude smacks of a deliberate attempt to frustrate the will of the people. It may be noted with interest that before it passed its resolution the federation’s council was addressed by the Minister of Finance, Mr Nash. This fact, coupled with the recent provocative utterance by the Minister of Health, Miss Howard, threatening “the biggest lot of industrial trouble it is possible to conceive” should the Government be rejected at the polls, raises the question whether the future usefulness of Communists and other extreme militants to a Labour-Socialist Party in Opposition has not been foreseen. If so, then the people will have the clue to the failure of the Government to curb the activities and growing power of the Communists and fellow-travellers in our midst. Miss Howard’s statement contains a confident and ugly inference. That is, however, nothing new. Other Labo.urSocialists have, in the past, spoken in similar terms, and have created the impression that the hostile activity of the militants would not be ‘unwelcome. This can only mean that they would countenance the use of industrial unrest as a political weapon and thus allow a small minority to attempt to impose their will on the great majority of the people. This would assist the Communists. It is indeed time for firm, fearless, and fair democratic government.

Restoring Right To Strike ' Actually Mr Holland would give unionists more' freedom Ilian they have under the present Government, lie would restore to them the right to strike, provided a secret ballot supervised by an independent authority is conducted first. Similar means would be adopted to ensure that union leaders really represent the great majority of the rank-and-file members, and he would enforce the law against illegal strikes —he would enforce Ihe law passed by the present Government but never enforced for reasons now becoming obvious. Thus would true democracy be enabled to work. The workers —who is not a worker ? -have everything to gain, any! nothing to lose.

In view of recent happenings, what sane-thinking worker will say that it is not time for a new deal, a democratic deal, in New Zealand’s industrial life?. Ugly forces are at work. If they are not soon curbed, by democratic moans, genuine New Zealanders will come to rue the day when thev assisted in their own betrayal.