THE LOCAL ELECTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22568, 11 May 1935, Page 7

THE LOCAL ELECTIONS

TO THE EDITOR

Sir,—Correspondents and yourself have been trying to explain the presence of a Labour majority in the City Council ,at the present time. May I respectfully suggest that none of you has yet placed hie ringer directly on the spot? Business interests in the city are perturbed at the turn things took on Wednesday, but I doubt whether any of them will be big enough to shoulder their share of the blame. Labour secured, a majority at the municipal elections, as it will secure a majority at the national poll in six months' time, for no other reason than that a considerable constituency of voters is disgusted over the abolition of the Arbitration Court, and looks to Labour to restore it. Probably for the first time in their lives what may be termed the salaried class, as opposed to workers On the basic wage, have voted Labour, and will do so again at the end of the year, assisting in the return of men in whom they have no faith personally, but merely voting for the party. In fairness to that class, it may be said that it was not the actual abolition of the court which roused their disgust. Conditions were bad, and something had to be clone. No, it is not the fact that they can no longer go to the Arbitration Court without the consent of employers (which, of course, they never get); it is the opportunity the Government bas givento big firms to shelter behind compulsory conciliation ami. optional arbitration, and at the same time make large gifts to their shareholders at the expense of their employees. Of course, the Government said that employers would not be so low as to do anything of the sort, and then blithely gave them every opportunity to do so. and the inevitable happened. No doubt you, Sir, are not unaware of large firms in this city which

were never in any danger of recording a loss even in the worst of the slump, but which rushed to reduce salaries and forgot to restore them. Employees know when a firm can afford restoration or not, and they <;an scarcely be blamed for considering what is happening in so many parts of the country if they vote for a party which they think will put a stop to unnecessary exploitation by restoring compulsory arbitration. It would be well for business to realise that the salaried vote is not inconsiderable—lain, etc., What's Left of Salarv.