CARPENTERS' DISPUTE

Chronicle (Levin), 11 February 1948, Page 5

CARPENTERS' DISPUTE

Press Association)

Abortive ileeting With MasterBuildefs

(Per

WELLINGTON, Feb, 10, The "gQ-slow" policy of the New Zealand Carpenters and Joiners' Union will be " reinstltuted • immediately, A statement issued today by the union announced that talks held eariier in the day with representatives of the Ne:w Zealand Master Builders' Fedei'atioii . had proved abortive and that further stop-work meetings would be held# to' place. details before memb'ers. ■ The union officials' statement said that representatiyes who met the master builders subsequently eontaeted members of the "national executive or the union and it was resolved that inview of the employers' attitude, the "go-slow" policy would be reinstltuted immediately. A stop-work meeting would be held at Auckland on Monday : next and another at Wellington on Tuesday, It was confldently expected also, the 'statement said,' that the Otago Carpenters' Union, pn behalf of which representatives in the discussions with. the master build'ers were empowered to negotlate, wonld give further consideration'tO the position in Dunedin. "We ' deplore the attitude of the employers' representatives in this matter but we are determined to continue our effbi-ts ' t'o 'rectify the existing an'omaly in' wage ' rates, " the uniou state'meiit cbncluded. "The uniou iuforme'd 'the na't'ional executive of the New Zealaiid' Federation of Labour of its discussidnS vvi'th' the' employers -and of the result. The union, during- the discussions, co'nti'nued tt) "press its claim for an jnereas.e of l'|d iu the hourly payi of carpenters, to bring them to 3/8 U hourli'. " ; The president of the New Zealand Master Builders Federation, Mr. S. G. fjhearerj pf Eastbourne, in a statement tonight said-.the federation met the national executiVe vOf the carpenters union this morning and .considered the demands and claims ittkde b.y the union. After careful considefalion of both demands and submissions, ihe federation informed the union as'- follovvs: "Having heard the submissioffS of the Carpenters' Union representatives an-1 their claims that the Arbitration CottM has failed to maintain a proper bal-'» ance in the wage rates, . we, having taken into consideration the basic wage rates of other skilled worlcers, cannot agree with the evidenee submitted to us; that tlie Court has created any anomaly. . It : is admitted that the union has created a dispute and in an endeavour to settle t'he matter we are prepared to ask the Minister of Labour, Mr. McLagan, to request the Arbitration Court to re-hear the union''s case ano we undertake to offer no further submissions to the Court. Furthermore, we will be prepared, as always, to abide by it§ decision. ' ' Mr. Shearer said the Builders' Federation had contacted the Federation of Labour and informed it' of this decision. The Federation of Labour, having also heard the decision from, representatives of the Carpenters' Union, had informed the Builders' Federation that the national executive of tlie Federation of Labour considered it inacl- ; visable at the momcnt to assoeiate itself with a further meeting between the Minister and Builders' Federation.