THE SLAUGHTERMEN.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1646, 13 January 1913, Page 5

THE SLAUGHTERMEN.

QUESTION OF CANCELLATION. 1 CANTERBURY UNION DOUBTFUL, Tho alarm of tho Slaughtermen's Union ' about apparent delay oil tho part of the Labour Department in cancelling the registration of all the unions of, slaughter-'.j. men in New Zealand turns out to havo ~, been really groundless. *On Saturday ' t morning the chief clerk of tho Labour .■ department (Mr. F, W. Rowley) informed j a Dominion lxsportor that ho iiad niadb . inquiries as to whether those who,..voted ; , for cancellation iu the ballots of members . of tho unions some two- months ago.; ~.i constituted a majority of, those at pre- • sent in tho unions, as tho Act requires, t and as'a 'result of those inquiries. ho, ; i could say that tho conccllation of tho! y i'oderatiou, and- all the affiliated' unions, ... except the Canterbury Union, would be guzotted next week. The reason for ro. lusins cancellation to Canterbury in'tho , meantime, he , said, wirn that the Depart"V-' nicnt had not sufficient ovidenoe that tho number of men who voted at tho ballot for cancellation was ■a : majority of tho iV» union. ' He had telegraphed and written to tho secretary of the Canterbury, Union',, j to inform him that evidence that'a majority of tho present' members 'of • the.' •''' union desired not to bo, registered under tho Aot would bo required before registration oould bo oancclled. > No doubt. sufficient ovidenco could bo obtalnod easily onougVand l if it;was in tho offlco ;of 1 • • tho Department by next Wednesday, no- - tico that the registration , of„.tho,Cant(ii>, i ;;,' bury Union was cancelled would. appear,. i ; with that of every other slaughtermen'r-i----union, in next week's Gazette. •. . . The reason caro ia-titte.'fax > quiry for this uhfon, Mr. Rowley ex--1 plained, was that the number of .ttefi' in IV'' r a butchers' union varied so mufch accord' ing to tho period of tho season., Ordinary,';/.:; i. ily it, could bo safely prepimed that a , ballot represented tho opinion of l a' ; mix'- •: i • 1 jorlty of the workers, ,but in . this ihdus--3 try the number of "men employed had v neatly doubled since tho ballot was taken. ' a It'may bo explained:'that ih.'; all'tha'': , sheds in Canterbury, . when tho ballot was taken, thero were only 30 slaughter* ' men at work. To-day thero mußt bo a( ■ least fojir times that number/ POSITION AT GISBORNE. ACTION BY SHEEP FARMERS, • • (By, •: Aesociatlonil ,j?.»:i v.; 'J Glsborne, January 12. Sheep farmers in this district aro pro* & pared to assist the freezing companies of ; Gisborno and Tokomaru in any manner' . i considered practicable , to* resist tho do- • mands of the Blaughtermcn. This fact .was announced last evening by Mr. Richard Sherratt, who yesterday presided over , a meeting of seventy sheep, farmers con- , ; vened „t<) 6qusid{»r •' regard to tho slaughtermen dispute.i Tho V' . following resplutibns' wcrti': 'unait"' ; imously:—; V v "That in the opinion of thii " as any increase in expendituyo on ; tho , ■ part of ■ the" freezing 'companies will l fall; . upon producers,', tho demands 'of tho slaughtarmen to increase the. ratb to 80s, , : per 100 aiid,,to imposo vexatious cohdi- ,1 tions upon .tlio freezing companies should bo resented;"- v . ' r ■/ J . , "That l in "tho event of ii'striko taking ' . placp tho farmers recommend tho freez- , ing companies at Gisborno and Tokomaru i. ' to 1 rely "upon 1 Volunteer labour, and this, meeting undertakes that all those in at- ' , tendance will u6o every cf-■ fort to supply suitablo labour as it may ; be required." ; ; ' •'■' , : : I ''' Mr.; Sherratt states that in tho event of a striko the sheep farmers are prepared to find[ sufficient freo labour to man' tho ' boards, and should the employment l , of , 'free labour at the boards cause an ci-'H'r! tension of such a,striko to tho wharves' 1 or elsewhere, they aro also prepared to ■ sec their'meat safely'shipped: All tho ; farmers present also indicated their wil. ' lingness to hold their stock in case of need. • .. . ,