The Wanganui Chronicle. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1936. THE SEAMEN’S STRIKE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 45, 22 February 1936, Page 8

The Wanganui Chronicle. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1936. THE SEAMEN’S STRIKE

\Y/tIILE it must be conceded io every worker that he has the right to withdraw the sale of his labour, just as in the same way a trader has the right to withdraw from the market the merchandise which he customarily offers for sale, it does not follow that the worker is to be regarded as in any favoured position in respect to retaining the market whieh he refuses to supply. The worker has no monopoly of supply. When this much is conceded, however—and it must be conceded if libcrty is to be enjoyed by the rest of the community—the worker Should think very carefully, and seriously, and long, before he decides to refrain from selling his labour in order io secure what.he considers to be better terms. The employer has a right to have recourse to other means of supply, either by employing other workers or by installing machinery to reduce the size ot the labour force whieh he must employ. 'fhe sinking worker s position, therefore, is always vulnerable, and this point is never overlooked by responsible trades union leaders. This point was borne in mind by the trades unions generally in Australia dining the progress of the seamen's strike. Lnionism has developed an esprit de corp, and trade unions are willing to assist each other where it is desirable to do so. But no one union has the right io precipitate all unions into a conflict. A general call must be made only after due deliberation by all concerned, and not only by those who are prepared to initiate action. 1 o charge Australian Labour with sabotaging the ease of the Seamen s Union is to put matters the wrong way round. It was the Seamen’s Union which attempted the sabotaging of the Labour movement. The miners particularly were requested to assist the seamen, but the former failed to see eye to eye with the latter and refused to be stampeded by appeals to “loyalty.'" That the action of the seamen was the result of. ill-founded t-ounsei seems now to be evident, and consequently the rank and file of the men who have remained loyal to their new ly-appointed secretary will pay for their loyalty, because so many positions will by now be filled by those who have already put to sea. Such an. eventuality was bound to occur during a period when theie aro more sailors than jobs.