F.O.L. AND T.U.C. DEEM WAGE RISE NOT SUFFICIENT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23288, 24 June 1950, Page 6

F.O.L. AND T.U.C. DEEM WAGE RISE NOT SUFFICIENT

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 23. The interim wage order of the Court of Arbitration issued recently was insufficient to meet workers’ needs in the opinion of both the national council of the Federation of Labour and the provisional national committee of the Trades Union Congress. The trade union policy on wages was under discussion at meetings of both organisations yesterday. Mr. F. P. Walsh, vice-president of the Federation of Labour, reporting on the decisions of the national council meeting yesterday, said that there was a very jong discussion. He supplied a copy- of a resolution adopted by the council. This resolution placed on record its thanks to Mr. Walsh and those associated with him for the work they had done in presenting the case.

The resolution continued: “We are satisfied that the majority judgment given by the court is not in accordance with the weight of evidence called by its own expert witnesses and that it does not in any way disprove the submissions made by the federation for a wage increase of lGs 2d weekly.”

Mr. A. C. Melville, secretary of the New Zealand Trades Union Congress, made the following statement of the opinion of the provisional committee of the congress: “The provisional committee is of the opinion that the recent decision of the Court of Arbitration supports the contention of progressive unions that the best means of protecting and improving the standard of ■living of the workers in New Zealand remains, as always, outside of the four walls of the Court of Arbitration. Whilst the committee recognises that; many unions are, on account of their economic strength, tied to the Court of Arbitration, it, nevertheless, calls upon all trade unionists to work in every way possible for the fulfilment of the demand for a wage increase of £3 per week to offset the increased cost of living and also to ensure that workers receive a fair and equitable share of the national production.’’

F.O.L. DEPUTATION.—-A decision to send a deputation to the Cabinet to submit views on the effect of the lifting of subsidies and controls was reached at a conference yesterday of the Federation of Labour executive and representatives of the A.S.R.S., the E.F.C.A. and miners’ and seamen’s organisations and harbour workers and engineers’ unions. In announcing this the wce-uresident of the federation. Mr. F. P. Walsh, said they also invited the Public Service Association and other organisations and the New Zealand Workers Union to take part in the deputation.—P.A.