NATIONAL PARTY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 234, 4 October 1943, Page 6

NATIONAL PARTY

ATTACK BY TRADE UNION ’ LEADER (P.A.) Wellington, Oct. 1. “Because of attacks made on the Trade Union Movement by the National Party during the election campaign it appears necessary to express the views of an organisations which represents 38,000 workers,’’ said Mr. F. P. Walsh, in a statement as president of the Wellington Trades Council of the New Zealand Federation of Labour. “Mr. Holland's attack on trade union leaders reveals that he is fundamentally opposed to industrial unionism,” said Mr. Walsh. “Like his political ancestors throughout the past century he would be delighted with a leaderless trade union movement. “The Nationalists hate the leaders of trade unions because the activities of those leaders and their Insistence on fair play for workers disturb the tranquility of those who enjoy easy profits and big dividends from organised business. Members of trade unions throughout the country have had to put up with a great deal of abuse of their leaders whom the Nationalists term ‘Labour bosses.’ That attitude was also adopted by the Lee Party. They sidestepped the fact that the trade union movement by reason of its constitution, rules and love of liberty has no dictators. “We realise that victory by the Fascist Powers in the present war would destroy all that has been achieved, and we are whole-hearted-ly behind the Govrenment in its administration in the Dominion war effort. Yet the National Party’s attitude during the election has been definitely damaging to that war effort. For political gain and to help the employing class It advocated a reduced military effort. To catch a few votes it set out to capitalise on the furlough draft, regardless of the fact that the course it advocated would have jeopardised the chances of any further men being granted the wellearned holiday in New Zealand. “The Nationalists also attempted to weaken New Zealand’s war effort on the home front. They attacked every law and every provision for maintaining full efficiency in defence and in military training for overseas. They endeavoured to turn the people’s wartime sacrifices, wartime shortages of commodities, and inevitable wartime inconveniences into political grevances. They advocated that prices should be left to the will of private enterprise and nothing should be protected except the old Tory privilege of grabbing all the good things in life. In all these actions the Nationalists sapped the morale of the nation. Another enemy of the war effort was the doctrine that the war could be paid for without any cost to the people of the country. The people showed by their votes that they are not so gullible. “The whole of organised industrial labour gives its pledge that it will continue to work to its utmost to increase production in the Dominion and support the Labour Government in its policy of carrying on the war without any relaxation and at the same time maintaining the high/st possible standard of living and lair play to all sections of the community,” concluded Mr. Walsh.