UNIONISM RUN RIOT.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 December 1929, Page 8

UNIONISM RUN RIOT.

It used to be a complaint by trades unionists that entrance to what were then termed “the learned professions” was made difficult in order* to preserve them for the moneyed classes. Free education has removed that grievance so far as New Zealand is concerned, though occasionally the suggestion is still made that certain professions are kept a close corporation. Whether this be true or not no profession in the Dominion has had the temerity arbitrarily to limit the number of those who may enter it. The way may be hard, but as long as an applicant for membership ean satisfy examining authorities that he has acquired the necessary training, admission to the profession follows without any difficulty. It has been reserved for a waterside workers’ union to show the way to more effete professions. That union in its wisdom decided that 700 members were sufficient for the comfortable sharing of the good things membership brought with it. An applicant for admission was turned, down, ostensibly because the quota was full, and to be turned down by the union was a very serious matter for a waterside worker. Under most awards preference is given* to unionists and only casual labour is offered the non-member. An applicant at Lyttelton took the matter to the Supreme Court, which has ordered the union to admit him as a member, the presiding judge making a rather caustic observation about tile doubtfulness of the limitation of membership. It is scarcely likely the rank and file of the union will testfsthe legality of the rule, for there »are disciplinary powers that make the way of the agitator within the union hard. The incident shows how harsh may be the tyranny of the trade unionist in authority. The query arises whether any other union has similar limitations, and if so what are their effects upon the economic life of the community.