WARNING TO WORKERS

Hutt News, Volume 20, Issue 12, 13 March 1946, Page 5

WARNING TO WORKERS

(fl?o the Editor)

Sir,—The urgent warning from Mr F. P. Walsh, representative of the Federation of Labour on the Economic Stabilisation Commission, regarding the danger of inflation, should make the workers of New Zealand think. ' "It is," he said, "Labour's responsibility to work for the maximum production of goods and services and anything which stands in the way of that goal is contrary to the best interests of the movement."

Yet what do wo find? In a world that is crying out for more goods and there is an obvious .need for more service we see section after section of the workers demanding shorter hours and higher wages; we •hear of strikes for what see'm to the general public the most trivial reasons; we read of many stopwonc meetings; we hear some employees boasting because they have "beaten ,the boss" for a few minutes at morning tea time or at the luncheon hour or at knocking-off time; we see a crowd of young people growing up with the idea that very .little service has to be given for high wages.

Surely it is time workers ceased living in suck a fool’s paradise and woke up to the fact tkat if tkey hope to increase their standard of living in New Zealand and their social services there is only one way it can be done, and that is by producing more goods and giving good service. There is no magic method by which the standard of living of the people of any country social services can be maintained.; All the social security benefits do not come out of the air. They have to be worked for.-ry-I am etc., WORKER.