Strike Action By Milk Vendors

Chronicle (Levin), 5 March 1948, Page 3

Strike Action By Milk Vendors

' WELLINGTON, March 4. , " Trying to force an increaae of near,ly 30 per cent. Jn the payuient they re: ceivcfor milk (listribution, some milk veudors in Hamilton and other Waikato towns have taken direet action by interruj)ting deliveries to the public," stated the Minister of Marketing, Mr. Cullen, today. ' ' This action is entirely unwarrantable, particularly beeause no factual evidence has been submitted to justify the increase they demand and also beeause the wliole question of vendors' margins is still under discussion on a national basis with the Dominion Federation of Milk Vendors. In collaboration with the local authorities concerned, ofiicers of the Milk Marketing Division are taking all possible euiergency steps to ensure that the public can obtain milk and satisfactory supplies to all shop dairies in the areas afl'ected are being achieved. "As from October last the vendors vvere granted an increase in their margin of id. per gallon, to bring their labour reward into liiie with increased remuneration granted other sections of the conuuunity. This increase of. id per gallon represented an ;additi"onal 17s 6d per week in the returns to vendors operating the standard 6U-gallon rouad. Full increases demanded, on. wltjch thc present action is based,; would represent an additional increase of mbre tlian £4 per week. That the cxeessive claims of the Hamilton milk vendors are unjustiliable, is borne out by t-he i'act that milk rouuds in the Hamilton district ehange hands at liigher prices for goodwill than most others in New Zealand. ' ' yteps are being taken to canccl the zoning ordei's in Hamilton and other Hamilton' towns afTected by the vendors' action but tliose vendors who are fontinuing deliveries of milk will be prutected under any new zoning order ivliirh may ultimately be introduced. "Thc extent to whieli a large section oJ' the public has been gravely inconveuienced by this action, is deeply re gretted and cvery ellort will be made to resume norinal household deliveries as soon - as possible. Meanwhile I dosirei to express my gratitude to local body repxesentatives.and officers in the.arfcds aft'ectcd for the able and-.helpful manfi ued in wliicii they have eopcd with the present mneigenty. ;