Mangakino Workers’ Dispute Unsettled

Northern Advocate, 17 March 1948, Page 4

Mangakino Workers’ Dispute Unsettled

MANGAKINO, Wed. (Sp.)—Still on strike are the 900 men employed at Mangakino by the Public Works and State Hydro-Electric Departments. The cause of the dispute is the demand by some of the workers that Mr L. Clapham, a Communist, who is secretary of the Mangakino branch of the Workers' Union, should be reinstated in his work ns a tunneller. Chances of an early settlement have been reduced oy the announcement that the union's case has been handed over to the Federation of Labour.

Action may be taken, however, by the opposition group in the union. A meeting of the Mangakino sunsection of the Public Service Association unanimously carried the following resolutions: — “(1) That this meeting of the Mangakino sub-seetion of the Public Service Association supports the engineers and deplores the circumstances which led to the present strike. We are satisfied that the engineers are not fighting unionism but a disruptive element which is not working in the best interest of this important work.

FEELING OF MEETING

“(2) That this meeting recommends that the Minister of Works (Mr Semple) and the general secretary of the Public Service Association (Mr J. Turnbull) be informed that the feeling of the meeting is that the lack of publicity by the department is deplored and that every effort should be made to get the desired publicity for this case.”

The national executive committee of the Public Service Association in Wellington carried the following resolution at a meeting last night: “This meeting dissociates itself from the resolutions reported to have been carried by the Mangakino branch of the association in relation to the present industrial dispute in that district, on the grounds that the association has not at any stage been consulted or made aware of the facts of the dispute by the parties concerned.”

TRAGIC, SEMPLE SAYS

In an outspoken condemnation of Communism and its effect on tne country’s industrial life, the Minister of Works (Mr Semple) when asked to comment today on the strike at Maraetai. declared:

“It is. tragic that so many working men hayc been persuaded, or intimidated as the 1 case may be, into strik-, ing for what was probably represented to them as a trade union principle, but which is. in fact, nothing more or less than an attempt to secure control of one of the nation's biggest public} works jobs.

“Working men, their wives and families. are being forced to suffer hardships because one man is being transferred from one Public Works job to another.

“In all my experience I have never seen anything so foolish or futile. ’ j Mr Semple added that when the en- ; gineers on a costly undertaking like i Maractai convinced him that they j were unable to carry on while one | troublemaker was on the job, he would i be shirking his responsibility if he had 'not taken steps to ensure that the job progressed smoothly and efficiently. “The brutal fact is,” declared Mr Semple, “that this is a trial of stiength j between Communism represented by*;Mr Clapham. and the Government. ! The Government must win.”

WORKERS' UNION MEETS

The management committee of the New Zealand Workers’ Union met in Wellington today under the chairmanship cf the national president (Mr v,. Wallace) to discuss the strike at die state hydro-works on the Waikato. . Discussions are continuing this alteinoon.