APPEAL MADE TO WORKERS

Southland Times, Issue 23675, 25 November 1938, Page 6

APPEAL MADE TO WORKERS

Address By Prime

Minister

MENTION OF HOLD-UPS IN INDUSTRY

MEETING PLEDGES FULL CO-OPERATION (Special to The Times) WELLINGTON, November 24. If the workers were going to begin by simply voting for Labour candidates and then to hold up the work of the country the Government would not be able to get anywhere, said the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) when addressing the quarterly meeting of the National Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour in Wellington. The meeting was not open to the Press, but a report of Mr Savage’s speech was made available. The Prime Minister emphasized that it was necessary that there should be the fullest co-operation between, the Labour Government on the one hand and the workers on the other.

The Government, Mr Savage said, had received wonderful assistance from the Federation of Labour and its officers and he wps hoping that that would continue to be the case. He felt that the Government ought to be in the closest touch with the representatives of organized Labour all the time. They had a glorious opportunity in New Zealand to build a wonderful country, but they could not produce wealth simply by turning a handle and printing money. There were enemies both at home and abroad, said Mr Savage, who were prepared to wreck the Government in the interests of those with other interests to serve. It therefore rested with the workers to see that those people did not make a success of their efforts. NO WAGE REDUCTIONS The Prime Minister said the Government was not going to ask any wage-earner to work for less than he was receiving today. “We can’t decrease expenditure unless we reduce wages or reduce the number of people receiving wages, and we are not going to do that. I have been telling a number of people that in the past few days. “Our job is either to implement our programme or to get out, and we are not going to get out,” Mr Savage said. “We are going straight ahead and we want your assistance. If we can increase the number of people in productive employment in New Zealand our success is assured.” Mr Savage said that the opponents of the Government were still hoping that in the next 12 or 18 months there would be another election. Just why, he did not know, unless it was that they thought they could wreck the Government by causing financial difficulties. It was the desire of the Government that «t should have the assistance of the workers in getting the best organization possible to promote the development of secondary industries so that more labour could be employed. CHEAP LABOUR COUNTRIES “The Government,” he added, “has got to see that its efforts in that direction are not sabotaged by the importation of goods from cheap labour countries. For that purpose there will be a publicity campaign, not only through the newspapers, but over the air as well, and representatives of the industrial movement will be invited to do their share in influencing public opinion. If the Government were able to get the advice and the co-operation of all there was no greater certainty in the world than that it would be successful in its mission. He said that it would be necessary to employ fewer men on work that was not directly productive and more on the production of consumable goods in the secondary industries. No action would be taken by the Government that would interfere with the conditions enjoyed by the workers today except to improve them, he concluded. The meeting was also addressed by the Minister of Finance (the Hon. W. Nash). PLEDGE OF CO-OPERATION Mr A. McLagan, national president of the federation, said he felt he could pledge the wholehearted co-operation of the members of the National Council of the Federation of Labour with the Government in any action which it considered necessary co carry on the affairs of New Zealand. The following motion was carried unanimously:— “That this meeting of the National Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour congratulates Mr Savage, Mr Nash and their colleagues on the splendid win of the Labour Party in the recent General Election, pledges the wholehearted co-operation of the Federation of Labour in carrying on the administration of the country, and further thanks Mr Savage and Mr Nash for coming along and frankly placing the position of the Government before us.”