TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays MONDAY 19th DECEMBER, 1949 WORK AND HARMONY

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 79, Issue 7147, 19 December 1949, Page 6

TE AWAMUTU COURIER Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays MONDAY 19th DECEMBER, 1949 WORK AND HARMONY

THE new Minister of Labour has indicated his hopes and broadly stated his intentions for industrial harmony in New Zealand. Himself a graduate from the wage-earner ranks, Mr Sullivan has a practical appreciation of what must inevitably be the human and the individual attitude, and he stresses the need for candour and honesty in the approach to every question. But he is wise indeed when he recognises that his task may have what he calls its “ prickly ” side, and just as his predecessor discovered, he too can find inherent weaknesses which will not be easily reconciled to the call to reason. Quite apparent is the outstanding fact that troubles do not originate with the rank and file of workers but rather that relatively small groups of trouble-makers scattered throughout the Labour movement foment discontent and cause most of the industrial disturbances; just as truthfully can be acknowledged that relatively few employers are unreasonable in their relationships, and that small groups of employers can give cause for discontent. But in the main th?re is reason and a willingness to better the relationship and to thus improve and strengthen the whole productive and distributive systems so as to hold intact and inviolate the economy in its many phases. But, no matter how a Minister may hope for harmony he cannot order it, and much less can he compel acceptance of codes which prove inequitable or unjust. He can offer the guidance, but it must come from those who share the daily responsibilities before continuing headway can be made. The Government’s part, as is proved, is to create and maintain the channels for discussions and negotiations on broader questions, but just as necessary is the approach and the desire within the individual establishment. Though even when the channels for understanding and negotiation are widely opened, it is not enough; it is the method of using such channels that must be considered. In the past, unfortunately, there has been much misuse of the means provided; many “ disputes ” have been deliberately designed by professional agitators, and the rank and file have perforce been required under guise of loyalty to participate in what has become disruptive rather than constructive claims on the nation’s industry. This continual organisation of complaint and its framing in the nature of demand has not benefited in the long run even those who submitted to bad leadership, for it has led to unbalance in the upward trend of costs and prices; when stability could have been a more more worthy purpose instability has been made a deliberate aim. If, therefore, a new outlook is encouraged, and if the Minister can better define and uphold acceptable codes, and if the Government can arrest the trend in factors which created so much disparity in the assessment of actual spending power, sound progress will have been made. But it rests more directly in industry itself to assure harmony by the exercise of those channels for better understanding as the starting point for more constant effort and endeavour towards an end which will be of universal advantage. The Government, and particularly the new Minister of Labour, can point the way; but it is for the people to develop the processes by which industrial harmony can be gained and preserved.