Labour's attitude towards peace celebrations

An article from the Grey River Argus regarding the United Federation of Labour’s attitude towards the proposed peace celebrations.

Objections

Not everyone in the British Empire supported the peace celebrations. In England, several veterans’ organisations boycotted them and following an incident in Luton the town was placed under military occupation for several days. There was more widespread opposition in Ireland, particularly in nationalist quarters.

New Zealand’s labour movement was divided over the celebrations, as it had been over the war itself, conscription and other issues. The most vocal opposition came from the militant United Federation of Labour (UFL). Its leaders announced that they could not take part in celebrations:

In honour of an event which makes the workers of one nation the slaves of the capitalists of another nation, and which does not extend to all nations the right of self government; and we oppose all wasteful expenditure on such celebrations.

A number of UFL members had been elected or re-elected to local bodies in the 1919 elections. In both Christchurch and Auckland they voted against funding peace celebrations, suggesting the money would be better spent on ‘relieving sick and wounded soldiers’. But they were a small minority.