The Hawera Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1928. CO-OPERATION OF LABOUR AND CAPITAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 1 September 1928, Page 4

The Hawera Star.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1928. CO-OPERATION OF LABOUR AND CAPITAL.

Delivered every evening by 6 o’clock In tfawera. Hanair.. Normanby. Okaiawa. Eltham. Mangatoki. Kaponga. Alton, 'Tnrieyville Patea. Waverlev. Mo_oia Whak'amara. Ohangai. Mereraere Prase* Roaii. and Are rata

The report of the General Council, to. be presented at the Trades Union Congress next week, strongly endorses the action taken. !to improve industrial relations ait Home. This weighty support of the new spirit in industry, following as it does the decision of the Aliners’ Conference last month, should strengthen the hands of those who see in closer co-operation, between employer and employed a road leading to renewed activity, industrial development, and improved conditions all round. As was to be expected, the decision of the miners was strongly opI posed .by Air Cook, the secretary of the Aliners’ Federation, who has been a bitter critic of .the recent industrial conferences, and has played an important part in organising opposition to any further attempts to secure peace in industry. Air Cook has long been a , stormy petrel in the Labour world, but the miners refused to follow him on ‘ this occasion, preferring the course outlined by their veteran .president, Mr Herbert Smith, who held that every ef- / fort should bo made “to reach a common understanding, and. fair-play for all engaged in industry.’’ A motion t.o condemn the General Council of the Trades Union Congress for entering upon those exchanges of opinions was defeated by 309,000 votes to 192,000, and the miners dealt still more trenchantly with the Communist element when, they condemned the tactics adopted by the extremists in: the various coalfields by the overwhelming vote of 020,000 to 8000. There is no little significance in the fact that the General Council of the Trades Union movement in the Mother Country sees in this new effort something that will enable the organisations to endure “as a living constructive' force.” That is a frank recognition of the fact they must contribute their best if the problems that have so long disturbed the industrial life of Great Britain, and have hampered development, are to bo finally solved. Prospects for a great, advance are bright, as there appears to be a genuine desire to> substitute for disputes and rumours of disputes a reasonable an A statesmanlike attitude. Incidentally, these conferences have made it plain that the attitude of employers has also undergone a remarkable change, and that they recognise the vital part that labour must play in the re-establishment of industrial stability. The responsible leaders of the Trades Union Congress, strongly supported by political colleagues such as Air Ramsay Afar Donn.ld, Air Philip Snowdon, and Air .T.' H. Thomas, all leading protagonists in the past in Labour’s figlit, for better conditions, have shown (true leadership, for they had to face in the initial stages of the new movement a. widespread suspicion among largo sections of their supporters. They pinned their hopes to the prospects of achievement, and the outcome has justified their faith. The actual progress made is in the: establishment of better relations and a. more ' complete understanding between! employers and employed, which must have prepared the way for more definite constructive proposals in the near future. The most encouraging feature of the General Council’s report is the. expros- , si on of willingness to go on to the next stage, confident that the outcome will be for the benefit of the whole eoinm unitv.