WELLINGTON UNION SECRETARY FINED £20

Chronicle (Levin), 9 March 1948, Page 6

WELLINGTON UNION SECRETARY FINED £20

WKLL1NCTON, Alarch 8. ' In giving his decision eon victing and lining Fmost Lionel Tregoweth, secretarv of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Carpenters'' Union, £20 on a charge of procuriug meinbers of his nnion to strike, Mr. H. J. Thompson, H.M., in ihe Magistrate 's Court held that a stopwork meeting was not prbvided for in the award and called within normal working hours constituted a strike within the' meaning- of the Strike and Lockout Emergency Regulat'ions, 1939. » Brought at tlie instance of the Inspector of Uactories the case was heard last Friday. The Magistrate then reserved . his decision. Mr. W. R. Birks appeared for the Ihspeetor of Factories and Mr. C. H. Arftdt for defendant. It was established, said the . Magis-

trate, that at the instructions of his executive defendahf called a' stopwork' ineeting for TUesday,^ February 17*; in Time .Theatre at F.afm. by;means{.of a circular dated FObi'itary 12, On that date 964 cireulars whre postod :'at' Te Aro Post Oftice under a posting permit which had been issued1 to the Weliiugv ton branch in i94o. There was evidenee. that. the meeting 'had been held and .had- . lasted until 11J.5 a.iu- and that carpenters, niembers :of the u'nion, had not worked on the morning of the meeting. > Some resumed aftei lunch. It seemed a proper inference" that the union members were a'bsent from tlieir work as a result of the5 circular. The current award covering the branch gav'e no power to hold a. stop-work meeting in ordinary hours. - After hearing siibmissions made by eounsel the Magistrate added that he had reached the eonclusion that the case niust stand or fall 011 the question whether the meeting was a strike_within the meaning of tlie Strike and Lockout Emergency Regulations, 1939. The Alagis-f trate, after quoting. the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act as well - as the regulations, said it seemed clear . Devond any doubt that any unauthorised , go-slow meeting held in working hours couhl not pos.sibly have.any result 'but ■ "a reduction of the normal output o.fc workers in their employment ", and 'that ' • 1 such a meeting is a coneertud.action' of workers havmg a tendency to interfere with the manuf;i,cture, -production,, . outjiut, etc., oi: gootls and articles, or otherwise to interfere with thu eH'ectiyo conduct of -any iiidustj'y^'Qi; uudeftaking"' specified. The mere * f act that the men were nway; from their work for the iiioriiiiigv nieVitably nieair, the loss of that mornihg's work. Ho must hold thercfore - that the stopwork ineeting 011 February 17 was a strike. Since the evidenee for defence showeu that defendant issued the circular calling the meeting and the meeting' was actually held as a' result of the cir- . cular it seemed ciear that defendant came within the seope of the offenee described as ' ' procuring a strike". He must therefore be convicted; of the oifence. The magistrate then examined the charge of .incitiiig and said that the terms of the circular 'which he quoted were suffieient ' ' to' I'ohse "the',rhost fehictant membef tova 'stnsc; Of the 'i'nAf portance of attending fhe meeting* for; his own f'uture peace of niihfl quif p ' apart froni any" •otli'er aUp&ct/^ hnd 'h'e^ : must therefore eonvict 'defjendarft ^ bn. the secoiid ehhrge'. ! "'V-. A fme of £20 was 'imposed oiifhe^first^ charge and defeiidant''- was' 'ionfihfdd^ and discharged o'n the secdh'd. •' ' The Magistrate di'SmisSOd 1 Siniil'dr .cliarges against the sJhfond' defendhnt, Jafnes Laidlaw. RecFetai^y' 'Of ;t'M"Hii'tt' Ya-llev branch of 1- tflte* union ;on .the' grouiid that .liis naitie was appeirded to the circular without'. aqthotisationL'' -e i.. Jt-U — .Lif.r. ! ;4i: : i