P. AND T. SERVICE

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 28 March 1922, Page 5

P. AND T. SERVICE

IMPORTANT STATEMENT

BY POSTMASTER-GENERAL

(BY TELEGRAPH —PBEBS ASSOCIATION.) UHKJUsi'CJtiliitCJtl, March '2i. An important comment on tlie question oi the ballot to be taKen by the , post and telegraph omcers regarding joining up with the federation or labour was made to-day by the Post-master-General. Mr. Coates sai"d: ] "i am rather loath to ma&e any refert ence to the matter, as it is a question , which the officers, or a certain section of otricers, nave taKen up tnemselves, I but I think it might be advantageous for me to give my views. There is no doubt in my mmd that the desire for ' such a ballot is not by any means unani- [ nious. Indeed, 1 feel certain that if ; every officer who is entitled to vote , exercises his or her right, the result will be entirely opposed to' any affiliation with the Federation of Labour. It is therefore incumbent on every officer to see that his vote goes in. "What would be the position if the ballot was in favour of the one big union? It would mean that the activities of a large public service such as the Post and Telegraph Department might be to some extent interfered with by the officials of a .labour organisation. In the event of trouble arising from the ] movement that is taking place, I feel : quite confident there are a sufficient number of thoroughly loyal officers to enable us to caro-j on the service. "The proposal of the post and telegraph service to join up with one big union is one that the people of the country will jaever agree to, and I believe it will be a very serious mistake from the post and telegraph point of view. That is not the serious aspect of the question. We all know that the officers are pledged to secrecy, and I am pleased to say that up to the present the service can be relied upon to maintain that oath; but what if the officers of the association become part and parcel of one big union ? Could the Government and the administration rely v upon iaach officer in the event of any extreme action on the part of the Federation of Labour? "The question is sufficient in itself to suggest .that for the good of the country as a whole the joining up with the one big union is entirely wrong. If the good work of the association's executive for .years .past is now to be shattered by paiesent-day proposals, urging affiliation, with a body whose conditions and ideals ;are in no way similar to those of the telegraph officers, the position ™ naturally have to be reconsidered by ml ■concerned. "I -should, perhaps, remark here for pu'bhc information," concluded the Minister, ".that included in the list of officers to vote there are approxi- j mately 800 message boys and message qMs, xvarying in age from 14 it© W years, and many junior officers ranging I an age from 16 to 21, who, I might be I permitted to say, are not in a position I to judge for themselves as to the correct 1 way ito record their vote, and therefore ' should not be permitted to record it. "I would just like to say that, it is most unfortunate that the question of taking a vote has been decided upon, and as I believe the voting takes place ■within the next few days, I trust every officer 'entitled to vote 'will do tso."