The Industrial World

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20455, 7 November 1934, Page 13

The Industrial World

CONDUCTED BY OBSERVER

This column is devoted to the news of the industrial Labour movement as represented, by the secretaries of the various unions whose headquarters are at the Trades Hall. Trade Union News and Views. MEETINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK. The Canterbury Carpenters’ Union— To-night, 7.30. The Boilermakers’ Union Tuesday, 7.30 pjn. The General Labourers’ Union—Tuesday, 8 pjn. The Engineering Union—Tuesday, 7.30 p.m. Labour’s Gains. The workers who are associated with the Labour movement should experience a great amount of pleasure in the information recently received on the success of the Labour candidates in the English municipal elections. An analysis of the final results reveals that Labour has gained 770 seats and lost 29. while the Conservatives have lost 635 seats and gained 41. Labour’s net gain has totalled 741 seats. The Labour Party now controls fifteen of the twenty-eight London boroughs and forty-one in the provinces. This great event, in such a conservative country as Great Britain, illustrates the growing confidence which the people are showing in the administrative capacity of Labour men. It shows also that the economic proposals outlined by Labour candidates are being accepted by a greater proportion of the voters. This Labour victory should have the effect of stimulating a greater interest in the proposals outlined by the Labour movement in all the self-governing Dominions. A Warning. All those interested in the success of democratic institutions and that political organs should be free from corruption and graft will be extremely gratified by the instructions issued by the- London Labour Party to all its candidates. The instructions in brief were: “No councillor’s father, son or daughter shall be eligible for any office or' situation whether the gift or appointment of the council, nor enter into a contract to do any work directly or indirectly for the council. The executive committee,” states the circular, “ could under no circumstances defend improper practices or influence in public administration. Councillors’ relations with their staff should be mutually respectful, not personally intimate.” These instructions, although issued ior the single purpose of preventing graft, place a very great handicap on the relatives of councillors because under these new circumstances they would be prevented from applying - for positions in local bodies. It does credit to the Labour movement, however, in that the instructions were issued to convince the public that local body administration under the Labour Party will be above board and free from corruption. There is no doubt whatever that the same principles will guide the administration of the Labour Party in New Zealand when * it secures control of the local l»odies in this country. A Case for the Arbitration Court. It is pleasing to find that a group of employers has agreed to permit an industrial dispute to go before the Arbitration Court for settlement. The Timber and Coal Yard Employers had agreed to a number of the union’s demands in the Conciliation Council, but preferred that the dispute on wages be referred to the Court. Mr R. M. ! Macfarlane appeared on behalf of the j union and presented a case for an in- j crease in wages of 5 per cent. The j Court has reserved its decision. The judgment of the Court will be awaited with interest because, if the demand is acceded to, it will be a lead for the other employers in private industries to follow. The United Front. The need for unity within the Labour movement is felt in Great Rri- I tain as well as in New Zealand. Mr j Walter R. Smith, the chairman of the j annual conference of the British Lab-1

our Party, in his presidential address stated, “ The responsibility laid upon members of the Labour movement was a heavy one. It was unfortunate that the movement had been assailed by people who professed to have the same objectives, and who had devoted their energies to sowing the seeds of discord in working class organisations. I believe with all my heart in the united front, but it must be a united front of the trade union movement, : the co-operative movement, and the Labour Party, the three great expres\j° nS worb ing class purpose and ideals, unhampered by minor organisations more concerned with creating dissensions than with securing effective unity.” He went on to say that he believed that trade unionism was the one true basis of working class organisation and that the Labour Party was the child of industrially organised labour.

Men of Mark in the Labour Movement. MR R. M. MACFARLANE. It will have been noticed that the men who play a great part in the organised Labour movement are those who entered the movement when very young men. A similar experience applies to Mr R. M. Macfarlane, the secretary of the Canterbury Labour Representation Committee. When only 17 years of age Mr Macfarlane joined the Socialist Party when Mr Fred Cooke and others were its leaders. The following year he was appointed its president. At that time it was no bed of roses for anyone to be actively associated with the old Socialist Party. At the same period Mr Macfarlane was a member of the Tailoring Union and served as an executive member for three years. These two experiences, one in the industrial movement and the other in the political movement, where ideal training

grounds for the future leaders of the Labour movement. When the Socialist Party went out of existence Mr Macfarlane joined the Labour Party and became the secretary for the Christchurch East branch, and in 1925 was elected president of the Labour Representation Committee. In 1931 he was appointed secretary of that body, and holds that position to-day. The Timber Workers’ Union, the Flourmillers’ Union and the Aerated Water Workers’ Union appointed him their secretary in 1929. Even this week he acted as advocate for the Timber Workers’ Union when their dispute with the employers was before the Arbitration Court. In addition to this work for the Labour movement, Mr Macfarlane was a student in the W.E.A. classes and represented the association in three annual debates with the Dialectic Society of Canterbury College. Later he was appointed to the District Council of the W.E.A., and later was elected a vice-president. In 1929 the citizens of Christchurch elected him to the City Council, a position he held for two years. The Labour Party has chosen Mr Macfarlane as its candidate for Christchurch North at the next Parliamentary election. When it is remembered that the subject of this article is only 33 years of age it will be agreed that his work and enthusiasm for the cause of Labour has been appreciated by his fellow members in the trade union movement and in the Labour Party by his appointment to the many offices he has held and is still holding.