PEACE IN INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19806, 29 November 1927, Page 11

PEACE IN INDUSTRY.

MOYE BY CAPITALISTS. UNIONS FAVOUR MEETING. 7 INEED FOR CO-OPERATION. -BRITISH TRADE SLACKNESS. SIR ALFRED MOWS VIEWS. By Telegraph—'Press Association—Copyright. (Received November 28. 10.-15 p.m.) A. and N.Z. LONDON, Nov. 28. The letter from Lord Aberconway, the Marquess of Londonderry, Sir Alfred Mond, Sir Josiah Stamp, and other industrial leaders to the Trades Unions Council seeking a conference with the general council of the unions to discuss industrial relationships, and possible steps to enable British industry to mce'i foreign competition, was discussed at a meeting *>f the General Council of the Trades Unions Congress to-day. It is understood that opinion was predominantly in favour of accepting the invitation, and that it was decided to reply in this sense. This new move was foreshadowed about a month ago, when it was stated that after a conference on industrial peace, at which Sir Alfred Mond made a remarkable speech, an effort would be made by a group of progressive industrialists to bring about a representative joint conference. After suggesting the need for an Industrial- League of Peace, Sir Alfred, in his speech, outlined a programme, of which the outstanding point was that the term "masters and men" should be regarded as obsolete, and instead the term should be "co-partners and co-workers." Referring to the letter, the Political Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, Mr., Ben Tillett, in a speech at Salford, said the best brains of the capitalists must join with the .best brains in the Labour movement to save tho. trade of the country. Without 14 intelligent co-operation and conscientious efforts by all sides for respecting bargains, the present chaos in industry, the slackness in trade, and the army of unemployed must continue. In order to organise the changes it was essential that all uneconomic overhead charges and uneconomic exactions of finance must bo ruthlessly eliminated. Capita! and Labour must discuss costs, //prices, profits and wages under the supervision of the State. This would assure the country's reaching its full productive capacity. The Daily Telegraph says the members of the Trades Unions Council differed as regard:; the industrialists' letter, - but it is understood that the majority of the Labour leaders welcome the letter and will accept the invitation to a joint conference to be held early in the New Year. This is especially likely, as Mr. G. Hicks hinted at such a conference in Jlis speech as President of the Trades Unions Congress, after the Prime Minister, Mr, Baldwin, had initiated the idea in a recent speech.

The subject of peace in industry has bccri much discussed in Britain recently. In September the secretary of the National Union of Raihvaymen, Mr. J. H. Thomas, M.P., addressed a remarkable letter to the members of that organisation urging them to co-operate with the railway companies in establishing a prosperous anl efficient service. The letter made particular reference to a circular addressed to the staff of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway by Sir Josiah Stamp, who urged- hearty collaboration between every grade in the service.

Mr. Thomas said there was a great controversy at the moment, both on the platform and in the press, on the subject of peace in industry. With regard to the situation on the railways, he said a great change had occurred in recent years, until to-day scarcely a single on est ion arose in {he course of railway '/ employment which might not freely be discussed between the management and the representatives of the men. A gathering of representative employers «nd Labour leaders was held at the Mansion House at the invitation of tne then Lord Mayor, Sir Rowland Biades, MP., on October 18. Mr. C. G. Amnion, a Labour M.P., said the words "master" and "man" should be expunged from the vocabulary, and Wages Courts should replace the present haphazard methods of fi x ' n 8 w^B. es - ... Sir Alfred Mond, M.P., said it was idle to tell people they were wage slaves and that the employers were grinding their faces, and it wr s just as idles to-call the ■workmen lazy. He condemned those who used the industrial movement for the sake of aggrandisement and for advertisement. Mr. Frank Hodges, ex-secre-tarv of the International Miners Federation, said there was in Britain ample evidence of a growing disposition toward better industrial relations. The methods of the strike and the locK-out were being superseded. He said the recent declarations by the trades union leaders in . favour of saner methods m he conduct of industrial relations were beyond doubt sincere and well conccnca.