LOCAL BODIES AND LABOUR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14933, 5 March 1912, Page 6

LOCAL BODIES AND LABOUR.

The Auckland City Council has made such increases in wages and improvements in conditions as must fully satisfy the wishes of its employees, and the scale adopted by the city is to be considered by the suburban local bodies. This being the case it is difficult to see what ground exists for labour disturbance in the civic employment. The Federation of Labour, however, is a body which does not appear to need any ground for interfering between Labour and Capital. Some 'months ago it actually interfered with the public services of the city in order to bring pressure - to bear upon the contractors on the drainage works and, if the opportunity is given it, may in a few months again attempt to stop scavenging, to lay the destructor idle, to cut off the water supply, and to generally oppress the public in order to bring pressure to bear upon somebody at a distance whom Aucklanders never saw or heard of. The constitutional way of bringing public pressure to bear upon any employer, near or far, is by the processes provided under the Arbitration and Conciliation laws, but this does not suit the Federation officials. What the Federation of Labour aims at provoking is practically a state of civil war, this state not to be finally settled by a definite arrangement, but to be revived time after time whenever it suits the schemes of this syndical-organisa-tion. It is not possible to tolerate such an imposition upon public forbearance. If we are to have this civil war at any time we may as well have it at once, and upon the question as to whether or not unregistered unions shall be recognised by bodies of employers.