LITTLE N.Z. INTEREST

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19133, 30 September 1936, Page 6

LITTLE N.Z. INTEREST

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DELEGATE CRITICAL (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. .Strong criticism of the. actions of employers and of the British Government for the uncompromising attitude on questions of social justice was raised by Mr, G. T. Thurston on his return to Christchurch from Geneva, where he attended the International Labour Office conference as a delegate for the workers of New Zealand. ''The thing that impressed me," lie .said, "was that almost invariably the employers did everything in their power to prevent an improvement of social conditions. This was done not only by voting, but. also by needlessly aborting the time of the conference." He added that, in his opinion, the employers were putting up a losing fight." Since the. inauguration of the International Labour Office in 1919," Mr. Thurston continued', "49 conventions have been, adopted, and more than, 639 ratifications have been registered. When a State ratifies a convention, it enters into a compact to maintain, by legislation or otherwise, certain specific conditions of labour.

"Strange as it seems, New Zealand has not yet ratified one single convention-. Workers and employers in New Zealand' should take a livelier interest in the work of this great machine. In many cases, our laws do not provide Hie conditions implied in the International Labour Office conventions and our previous Government seems to have ignored almost entirely the' treaty to which it is a party.

"Little or no discussion takes place in. New Zealand on matters pertaining to labour conventions,, and' I feel it is my duty to place the questions before the Government and to ask that these matters should be referred, either to the Labour Bills Committee or to some special committee of the House of Representatives."