PEACE IN INDUSTRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 235, 23 December 1927, Page 8

PEACE IN INDUSTRY

SPIRIT OF CONCILIATION MR. HALLY’S REVIEW When the last industrial disout. for the year had been settled an j the echoes of retreating foot**.,* had died away .n the Conciliation Chamber. Mr. P. Hally. Concil" ation Commissioner, gave a SUN reporter an interesting review of the year’s work.

“The glass worker s’ dispute is nr a v ably the last one that will be by a Conciliation Council this "vea? and I may remark that, during rux** years’ experience as commissioned gaged in the settlement of industrial

troubles between employers and worfc. ers, I have never experienced such t dull period, so to speak, as during the past year. In making this statement I do not wish you to assume that either the employers or the workers were satisfied with present conditions—far from it. The worker would like more wages and the employer more work fee the wages he is now paying and so <m. HARD TIMES “The main reason why there has been a smaller amount of industrial trouble this year as compared with past periods is the fact that trade and business generally have not been good. Money has been scarce, and sources of credit have been rather restricted. Employers of labour have not escaped the effect of these and other troubles, and, of course, those dependent upon them have felt the results of the general depression. So much so that those responsible for the welfare of the workers’ organisations have in very many instances refrained from asking for improvement in conditions of work, realising that, under present conditions, this could not be met by employ* ers. “Fortunately, in the opinion of many persons capable of expressing an opinion, ‘the corner has now been turned.’ The prices for our primary products have been improving of late. A spirit of optimism is now more general than it was six months ago. Indications of more prosperous times are more pronounced, and an improvement in business and trade generally will be experienced during 1928. It is only to be expected that the worker will receive his quota of the good things in store. AMITY IN INDUSTRIAL WORLD “Yes, the relationship between the worker and his employer throughout New Zealand is splendid. No serious trouble between the parties has been experienced. A slight difficulty did happen at the big hydro-electric works at Arapuni, and notwithstanding the statement published that the strike would have been settled very easily but for my ‘unwarranted interference’ 1 would like you to publish the fact that I did not interfere until I was instructed, and that within 12 hours after I met representatives of the men and the company, the difficulty was got over, the strike ended and the parties satisfied. This and the difficulty that existed at the freezing works during a portion of last season were the oriy difficulties of any magnitude during the year. “I would also like to express ray gratitude to the Press for the public:ty given to any question that tended toward improving the relationship between employer and worker.”