Conditional Unionism

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 93, 29 March 1922, Page 7

Conditional Unionism

NEW METHODS ON RAND CHAMBER OF MINES’ TERMS. NO TREATING WITH EXTREMISM. (By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.) Capetown, March 27. At the annual meeting of the Chamber of Aimes at Johannesburg Mr. Buckle, chairman, said that the system ol shop steward and shaft stewards who interfered with the wock of employees undermining discipline become a veritable nuisance and no longer would be tolerated. He laid down the conditions on which the chamber recognise the trade unions in future as follows:—

The union must contain a substantial proportion of the particular class of mine employees it purports to represent.

X union, to be properly recognised, must make proper provision for secret ballot before declaring a strike. The chamber will not recognise a union whose members refuse to work with non-members, or which countenances a strike in order to force the employees to join it. Other clauses cover refusal to recognise persons who have been associated with the augmented executive which conducted the recent strike, or Council of Action as representatives of any union whatever, and refusal to recognise political institutions claiming to be trade unions. The chairman added that as the time went on it might be necessary to make alterations in trade union constitutions, especially in regard to the secret ballot. The chamber is prepared to meet accredited representatives meantime without insisting on prior acceptance of the clause. —(A. and N..Z)