CORRECT ACTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26352, 6 January 1947, Page 4

CORRECT ACTION

POSSIBILITY OF SETTLEMENT FEDERATION OF LABOUR’S ATTITUDE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Jan. 5. If the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union would hand over its dispute to it, as was originally proposed, the Federation of Labour was confident of a satisfactory settlement. This is made clear in a letter sent by the secretary, Mr K. Baxter, in reply to one from the secretary of the Transport Workers’ Federation, Mr P. Hansen, asking for its direction and cooperation in the dispute. “The secretary of the Transport Workers’ Federation has been informed that the National Executive of the Federation of Labour has already advised the Waterside Workers’ Union that, if the dispute is handed over for direction by the Federation of Labour, it is convinced that a satisfactory agreement can be achieved,” states Mr Baxter’s letter. “ The procedure followed by the Federation of Labour is in accord with the decision made at its last annual conference to exploit all avenues of settlement before taking strike action. “ The Federation of Labour has been requested by several affiliated unions to intervene in the dispute with a view to reaching a. satisfactory settlement in accord with these, and, acting on instructions from my National Executive, I wrote on December 24 last to the national secretary of the Waterside Workers’ Union, advising him that the Federation of Labour was confident thht a satisfactory settlement of the dispute can be achieved provided the . Waterside Workers’ Union handed over the dispute to the Federation of Labour. If normal work is resumed and negotiations placed under the direction of the Federation of Labour I am confident that with the co-opera-tion of the affiliations an early, beneficial, and satisfactory settlement can be achieved without risking the loss of advantages, already gained under commission control.”