TRADE UNION TRYANNY AT THE WHARF.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 October 1925, Page 6

TRADE UNION TRYANNY AT THE WHARF.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —On reading the , above 1 ease reported in a recent issue, it is hard to realise that one is-in New Zealand. TJiis same Messrs. Hill, Fulton and Co. have sentenced a fellow unionist to leave the town for two years, accompanied by the vilest threats that it is possible to imagine. Now, I should like to ask Messrs. Hill and Fulton 1o deny that the secretary of the New Zealand Watersidera* Federation advised them and their fellow members to . carry on with their work In ’the usual way' (as in the case of the late unfortunate railway strike) and. to take no part in the seamen’s strike. How comes it, then, that Messrs. Hill and Pulton have taken most prominent part at this port in this latest strike in type of these in-

structions from headquarters? On whose authority have they acted? Can they deny that they are acting for mpn who have proved dieloyal- to their own union, who have, in fact, thrown over their own union, and are now nonunionists? If these men ar© the leaders of unionism in this province, the sooner the unions rid themselves of this element the better for the progress of trades unionism. They, the leaders, are always talking about victimisation; then turn round and inflict on a unionist the most wanton victimisation; (this in face of the instructions to waterside workers to carry on in the usual way) for helping to set the wheels of progress and prosperity in motion.

the action of this victim of tyranny with the action of hie judges, and the public must surely see that their actions are not only against unionism but against the progress of the port of New Plymouth. The “goslow” policy adopted on the s.s. Gallic (the stopping of overtime on the same boat, the leaving of several non-union-ists to work other boats on the same night), tJ turning down of meat on the s.s. Il; runui, the attempted hold-up of the s.s. Hartfield with sulphur cargo, all go to prove that they will ruin the chances of New Plymouth’s being a main port if some drastic action is not taken immediately. It is up to the Harbour Board to protect this man by law. The public are looking to them to do their duty. The public will not stand for Communistic tyranny, for this is what their undoubted aim is. Had (Messrs. Hill, Fulton and Co. used their talents toward helping their fellow unionists on the wharf to obtain a more % equitable adjustment of work than exists there,'they would have been truly helping the true cause of unionism, but as they can only see victimisation by the “boss” and inflict their diabolical tyranny on their fellow unionists, the real causes (on the New Plymouth wharf) of discontent will never be attended to until they have been removed—l am, etc., A WATE’RSIDER. New Plymouth, Oct. 5.