Greymouth Evening Star. WEDNESDAY; JULY 5, 1950. Unionism And Politics

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 July 1950, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. WEDNESDAY; JULY 5, 1950. Unionism And Politics

THE decision of the executive of the * Wallsend Miners’ Union to discipline members who did not take part in the T.U.C. demonstration march deserves more than passing attention. Ordinarily the domestic affairs of a union merit little outside interest—so Jong as they are concerned solely with industrial matters. But on this occasion the action of the union executive- raises a question of importance —the claim of a union Jo the rigl;t to insist on members taking, part in a political demonstration. For the reason that .it is symptomatic of a trend in certain circles, not only in this district but throughout the country, this claim warrants close examination in the interests of democratic government. '■ XT , . . Whether or not the Wallsend Union j decision was' made by majority vote is beside the point. To attempt to coerce even a minority of one into taking part in a political march against his wishes is a serious breach of democratic principle. It is likely that many of the union members, in their zeal for assuring loyalty to decisions made by the majority, did not realise the broad implications of their decision. It probably did not occur to many of them that it is tantamount to enforcing respect for one-party rule, such as exists behind the Iron Curtain. There may, or there may not, have been men who marched in the parade only because they knew that non-attendance would have aroused union displeasure. But, even if all the men who marched did so willingly, the principle of political freedom is still unshaken. I Union control should be confined to industrial matters. It is an abuse of power Ito use it for political purposes. A union- [ ist, while acting loyally in accord with decisions on industrial matters, should be free to exercise his own judgment on other questions without fear of victimisation. Any other attitude is plainly intolerable in a democratic community. Among the most important measures to be introduced in the House of Representatives during this session is a Bill to apply truly democratic methods in the affairs of trade unions. Events in New Zealand in the past few weeks, culminating in the imposture of last Wednesday’s industrial charade, should strengthen the determination of the Government to ensure that decent unionists are given full opportunity by law, without fear of victimisation, to exercise real majority control over their unions. The sooner industrial legislation for secret ballots, independently and impartially supervised, makes its appearance the better for all unionists and the country generally.