DISGUST EXPRESSED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27038, 24 March 1949, Page 7

DISGUST EXPRESSED

WELLINGTON TRADES COUNCIL “SCURRILOUS ABUSE” OF EXECUTIVE PA WELLINGTON, Mar. 23. Disgust at the “ scurrilous abuse ” levelled at the National Executive of the Federation of Labour was expressed in a resolution adopted tonight by the Wellington Trades Council after a discussion of the correspondence which recently passed between officials of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union and the federation. The president of the council, Mr F. P. Walsh, reported after the meeting that the whole of the evening was given to a discussion of the carpenters’ dispute at Auckland and to correspondence which had passed between the National Executive of the federation and the Carpenters’ Union, and between the National Executive and Mr H. Barnes and Mr T. Hill (national officers of the Waterside Union).

Mr Walsh said the recently-pub-lished statement by the Federation of Labour in the carpenters’ dispute was endorsed by the meeting by 95 votes to 15. The meeting was then asked to endorse the action of the National Executive of the Federation of Labour in refusing to discuss any matter with the Waterside Workers’ Union until “ the scurrilous communication ” from the union’s officials had been withdrawn and an apology made. A motion endorsing the federation’s action was carried. An amendment proposing that the matter be referred to the annual conference of the federation wps defeated by 93 votes to 17. The resolution was then put to the meeting, and it was carried by 83 votes to 27. It read as follows: “That this Trades Council pledges its fullest support to the National Executive of the Federation of Labour in prosecuting a policy of conciliation and arbitration as laid down by the annual conference of the New Zealand Federation of Labour and in combatting from whatever source it may come, any attempt to wreck or weaken the declared policy of the organised trade union movement. “We treat with disgust and contempt the scurrilous abuse couched in such unreasonable and irresponsible language which has been levelled at our national executive by certain ‘misleaders’ of a section of the trade union movement, merely because the executive courageously upheld the policy laid down by the conference. We condemn such unscrupulous and anti-working class attacks, and disassociate ourselves from the persons reponsible. We are of the opinion that such vindictive abuse arises from the disappointment of such persons who have been baffled in their attempt to stage a general hold-up of industry with the consequent wrecking and splitting of our industrial and political labour movement.” Officers Elected All the principal officers of the Wellington Trades Council have been reelected unopposed. They include Messrs Walsh, president since the inception of the Federation of Labour in 1937, J. H. Collins (vice-president), P. E. Warner (secretary) and E. B. Newton, delegate to the national council.