BANK CLERKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22434, 2 June 1936, Page 11

BANK CLERKS

FUTURE ORGANISATION GUILD OR UNION? CIRCULAR TO MEMBERS I _________ ATTACK BY MINISTER; THE COMMITTEE'S REPLY [BV TELEGRAPH OWN COR*ESPONTDENT~) WELLING TQN. Mond.iy Strong exception to a circular sent to hank officers by the Rank Officers' Guild in regard to a ballot on a proposal to form a bank officers' union has been take;a by the Minister of Labour, Hon. H. T. Armstrong, who paid to-day that it deliberately misrepresented the position and contained what lie could only describo as '"poison.'' Mr. Armstrong said he advised bank officers to refrain from voting until the true position was explained to them, because whatever the result of the ballot, if they did not accept his .advice and register under the Arbitration Act in order 1;o retain the (separate identity of their organisation they would be in grave danger of being' absorbed by an outsido organisation. "If that happens," ho said, "they •.vill bo entirely responsible for it themselves." Action by Executive In order that " the fair-minded public may judge" whether tlhe condemnation by the Minister was justified the executive committee of tho New Zealand Bank Officers' Guild ha 3 released for publication the text of the confidential memorandum to all bank officers throughout the Dominion. A special meeting of tho executive of tho guild was held to-night to consider a reply and this was issued under the fiignature of the president, Mr. V. C. S. Edwards. The text of the memorandum to •which the Minister referred reads as follows:—

" As you are no doubt aware, a recent amendment to the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1925 makes provision for the registration of New Zealand industrial unions of . workers. As this may have an effect upon the position of "bank officers the executive committee of the guild has of late given the matter very careful and close attention. The effect of the legislation has been very much exaggerated in certain quarters and various rumours and opinions have been current. Clarifying the Position

"To clarify the position it was deemed expedient for representatives of the guild to interview the Prime Minister amd Minister of Labour with a view to ascertaining what effect the amended Act'would have on our guild. Legal adrice has also been obtained. As a result of advices received and after having given this important matter full and earnest consideration the executive committee feel that as the guild is a purely democratic body it is for members individually to decide by ballot ■vrhat form thoir organisation should take, continuance of the existing guild or registration as a union under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. A voting paper is therefore enclosed herewith, so that you may indicate your preference. ,

"In an endeavour to assist you to arrive at a decision we present hereunder a brief summary of what appears to us the vita'i factors: "(I) A union would have power to apply to the Arbitration Court for an award covering salaries, hours of employment and general conditions as to terms of employment of bank officers. "(2) As far as we can ascertain registration as a union would not directly interfere with our allied activities.

"(3) If a union were registered it would consist of bank officers only. "(4), Membership of a union would Ibe compulsory for all bank officers in the event of an award or industrial agreement being in force and employers being bound thereby. In such event employers must employ unionists. "No Automatic Absorption"

"(5) If it is decided not to register as a unipn we have the assurance of the Minister of Labour that we shall not be absorbed automatically in a general clerical union. "(6) Control of a* union would be vested in representatives appointed by members in a manner very similar to the method provided in the rules of the Bank Officers' Guild.

"(7) Registration as a union does not necessarily involve seeking an award from the Court or arranging an industrial agreement. Such actions would depend upon the provision in the rules, probably the decision of the management committee. Many unions registered in the past have never applied for awards •or industrial agreements.

"(8) While it is usual for an award to he sought by employees, conciliation council and the Arbitration Court are available also to the employers if they consider any variation of conditions is justified. "(9) While it might not immediately be deemed necessary to apply for an award upon registration as a union, this would no doubt eventuate in due course. It would be the main reason for the formation of a union in the minds of ninny officers. The experience of our Australian friends has teen that Court proceedings involve considerable and perhaps excessive expense, and in some cases a special l«vy on members.

Award and Salaries "(10) If a union is registered and fin award' is subsequently applied for and obtained the general effect would be the levelling of salaries, irrespective of the merits of individual officers. Furthermore award rates would not necessarily exceed the general average of salaries paid by the banks at the present time. It is possible that the average might he lower. The possibility of retrenchments should also bo borne in mind.

"(11) Registration as a union would, U'o fuel, ' immediately endanger the present friendly relationship between employer and employee which, if not at once, would tend, particularly if any Unfavourable award were obtained, to or curtail many of the valuable privileges granted by banks to their staffs and to the guild. We would mention:— (a) Interest on accounts; (b) liberal treatment for sick leave; (c) contributions (usually substantial) to pension /funds; (d) special leave for various reasons;; (e) special facilities a ii<! concessions granted to guilds' organisations.

"(12) In working under aw award the conditions of employment would be nuich more rigid. To avoid the necessity lor overtime members would lose many °f the personal privileges and liberties at present enjoyed. The question of hours of employment and overtime is being dealt with by the Government, a «d will have general application, whether employees are members of a union or, not. :■ ."(13) While we feel that we have the goodwill and sympathy of the present. Government, it is quite possible tiiat in the event of a political change & new Government might regard and treat us less favourably as a union than as a guild,

"(14) The tendency of a union is to become a political organisation, while the guild, although at the last election opposed to the nationalisation of banking, is non-political. "(15) under the Act it has always been possible for bank officers to apply lor registration as a district union. The

Act as now amended provides that if a union were established having a branch in at least four of the eight industrial districts, application could then bo made for registration as a New Zealand Union with the concurrence of the Minister of Labour.

"(16) Registration as a union is recommended by both tho Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour, the reasons given by them being that we would be in no worse a position and would thereby prevent the registration of a union by dissatisfied bank officers. "(17) If the present vote is against the formation of a union we are not precluded from taking steps to form a union and to apply for registration at a later date if members so desire. "(18) If registration is effected it would perhaps be difficult to have registration cancelled if a union was subsequently found to be to our disadvantage. "(19) As it is well known that our employers do not favour a union we feel, perhaps not altogether justly, that any future representations made by the guild will be treated with more thorough and sympathetic consideration than ha in some cases been evidenced in the past. In other words, wo would obtain the benefits of a union without its disadvantages. This statement is not made in any sense as a threat to our employers; it is merely logical. Indication o! Opinions "(20) As far as we can fairly judge, viewing the matter broadly, the guild organisation has beon more successful than the union in existence in Austral in. "(21) If tho result of this ballot is in favour of the formation of a union it is proposed to place the matter before the executive council of tho guild for consideration forthwith. It is not the wish of this committee in any way to influence your voting. On the other hand, we feel that many members will expect some indication of our personal opinion on this matter. After carefully considering tho question from all angles we feel that tho present Government is well disposed to employees and that registration as a union is unnecessary in view of tho strength and influence of our existing guild. You will appreciate that this matter is one of paramount importance and 'we would earnestly request you to weigh the matter very carefully before completing your ballot paper." Comments by Committee In reference to the above statement the executive committee of the guild makes the following comments:— "Although the memorandum was a confidential statement to bank officers, in view of the Minister's strictures we give the full text of the memorandum to which the Minister takes exception. In our opinion we consider the memorandum an impartial presentation of facts and leave it to the fair-minded public to judge whether it merits the condemnation of the Minister. While it is, perhaps, unusual for a memorandum to bs forwarded with a bajlot paper, we consider we were fully justified in adopting this course. " We submit that the ballot is not a ballot in 'the true sense. It is not to decide the issue whether or not a union for bank officers is to be established, but is merely to test the feeling of bank officers, the great majority of whom are unfamiliar with the prop, and cons of the case. The final decision as to what course will be pursued will rest with a conference of delegates from all parts the Dominion, which will meet in Wellington later in the month. Inquiries from Districts

"The necessity for the memorandum was further emphasised by the numerous requests for information received at the guild office from oiitside district'!. The executive committee ha* made no efforts to influence bank officers in their voting. " While the Minister considers that the memorandum from start to finish misrepresents the position, we understood he takes particular exception to Clautse 5, which he now says is an incorrect statement. This clause .was embodied in the memorandum as e. result of an interview between the Minister and two members of the executive committee. At this interview it was indicated to the Minister that probably a ballot would be taken. It is obvious thatf if the statement made in Claune 5 is incorrect, there would be no object in taking a ballot, if the alternative to forming a union of bank officers was the automatic absorption in a general clerical union "