MEAT WORKS WILL CLOSE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1647, 14 January 1913, Page 7

MEAT WORKS WILL CLOSE.

-—: —♦ —■ THE SLAUGHTERMEN. COMPANIES' HANDS FORCED/ STRIKE LOOKED FOR. Tho meat works at Petoho and Nga«'. ;;,;■ hauranga will close down on \ Monday . next until further notice. About a week ogo tho Slaughtermen's :■ ,'•;. Union, in order to avoid tho possibility [■.. of penalties under tho Arbitration Act, gave notico to the owners of their intcn- '.;.->(< tion to cease work in 11 days, and tb» •■"'' " companies' action was tho only possible , ono under'tho oircumslances. If tho men had ceased work in tho middle of a busy, v ;.,;' rush, starving 6heop would have been .■■■, arriving hourly' at tho yards, and th«' ■ .■' interior of tho works would have been left in a state of hopeless disorder. .'..■.'■" In order to obviato this, 1 ; tho oompani«« : aro making arrangements for a full.sup*; i'?.- . ply of sheep for this week, and they.ar* .; :;■' keeping back sheep for /all days , after ; ; v Monday of next week. '■.'.. It is understood that the men are will* •;' •: ing to continue.. working until the day fixed for closing. Then thcro will bo no r ; nioro sheep, and no more work for any ' : . but tho weekly, hands until the, dispute , > as to the wages to be paid to slaughter*; men is, settled. I , '.'.;■•'■ '' All', this -means that there .will, be • : . I ''J:J cessation of work next week, and that \, the companies' aro merely falling in with, the men's expressed desire to strike,work until all differences are adjusted. It ». ''.'«■■' understood' that a majority of'the men. ~,-.-; in Wellington'have voted (in.tho ballot •..'■■ taken recently by- tho union) against the,'' ;;«. acceptance of the employers'.'. offer; or ./. .. : 275. Gd. per hundred sheep or lamb» "■■ "•• killed, and it may therefore be presumed l that they would havo responded,to a call ;, to striko if suoh a call had been made., v" ; : This last'action'of tho companies, which; - ■ ~ has been taken as a measure of 6elf-pro- . servation, will make a strike,unnecessary. V here," • . ,' '"'.'. ■.' .-;■',;.■ ' • ;•'.'. ,:''■■;; How tho voting has gone,,in other ais-,/.,- vi ,-, ■■ tricts is known only to the union ■..■; tary, Mr, M. J. Rcardon, and he wi11.,. : not give any information to the press .con':-,- ; _-- corning it. '■' ~■ _ ~, ', But although most of tho Wellington :,\; butchers , aro alleged to favour striking .-•■.,■'•, for bettor rates, it is stated that there is a very considerable number of them ; , would muck' prefer to accept;the com-* v,| < panics' terms, a'nd go on wortong. Many,.: of thorn, earn as much, as wE9 per week •■.■■< r. : in the busy, part of the season, at tho present rate of, 255.' per hundred, and good •■■ .; wages' for the rest of it,, and :.th«y areanxious to go on. making .m0ney.;..1u,,,, : . the off season they do not earn...nearly..,;,', - so , high wages at .Buch..work, aa, U.to '. It is'understood also that'the army of other employees who are to' be ttowtt .; '• . out ofi work by tho action of the: butch-, !f ers are by no means pleased at the pros-; 'j ";■';• pect of enforced idleness, and no wages, ~,- ,i '.- so that His safe to'presume: that tho ■•■ slaughtermen will'not havo 'the; support •■,•;,; y 'of all .their fpllow-workers ;in v th.tß .dis-, v .^ Tho'casb of the former who. hoe the ; fat stock;on. his best pasture m autici-v ; . nation of being'able to export the> sheep.,;,;, or to sell them for export, is. lather a-. : ': worse one. Those faimers who. ,havo ; found their feed running, ,short have ~ been rushing 'sheep, into %e.work? space was available/but 'there .wiU still ■■• rr ~- be a number of graziers left with sheep . which they do not,wish to. hold.; ; Ic*. ; ; tunately,. pastures. are_ *~; . : ■■- • general,way,' and in Wellington., EMtinc, ~.. ;thoy are understocked,;., ' -: %.,,.: -...,• ,•■;'■[/, : ALTER YTHE r 'LAW?' '~ : ,,'; : ''"; Says the "Wairarapa Ago"! T Tho crUir : !; that is just now, being> precipitated over •] tho slaughtering industry, following closely on the heels of tho, Waihi incident,!.. ;A shows how utterly ineffective for the «*•'•';; !"•, tlement of industrial disputes **■.:■■■:;'.■, bitration. and Conciliation Aot. The time, ~ ..,-, has arrived when, the industrial, classes, ~: v. a? a whole should bo made to chooso.betweon arbitration and. freedom of con-,.... tract.' The power that, is given the work* , , dm to cancol.'rcgisU'ation whenever thej ...: <: are dissatisfied with/an award, must bo .„ withdrawn, or the Arbitration ; ,-• ; , v . bo wiped out position, which permits one section 0f,,,,.; thVworkors to'uso tlio strke woapon'in ~. > thten%rcement of its demands. an& nw : ,',, pols another eection ; to resort to arbitra-, , , ion, is intolerable.. Parluunwit «™J» V.. ,-/.=; longer permittho industries to .bo 6«^-...,-. ,' jeet to such -a tot and co d policy. We ■ ; Ust have one thing or .the otter the Arbitration Court..is to bo retained/ it must fy made -.euVtivo. .... '.IN CANTERBURY,;,. 'u / ; ,•' V (Bj T«kgrapb.-Press: Aiseolatlon.i . ; .„ ■ ..'-'.v.: Christchurch,, January IS.; '■"-• ' How little iv thought of, the. twubls; v;,;» with' the Federation Doooin- -, ing. acute in Canterbury was beard by "Press" representative,, who had a tallc , , with three shecpfarmcrs, 1 ' from difteront ••. narts of. North Canterbury: on baturday. .■ The first had asked, his-luen about it,;,., and eight of them (each of whom was an ~ |: expert killer) had said that they ; would . ;! ; replace the strikers; '-. Other men .about; , . tho place were agreed that they too w0u1d.,,,,, , The second farmer, said that, from, a' ••-. •';;.; talk with tho young farmers ho knew that they,would do their port, and would,, ; , do it tho more'eagerly as their paces ~• wero small, and getting a small-draft;,-., '■■ ■■ dealt with was moro important to them-., than the; freezing of many moro sheep ~-;. would be to a man in a larger way. The third fanner, whoso place lay fur- , . thor out, said that tho popbihty of a j,■■, striko had not even been tho subject, or,. ~ talk there, ," ■- '' '' „■■• '~'• n : ■,''•'■; •;' Putting their,heads togothcr, tho three,, •,, were agreed that, between three hundred and four hundred mon-not mon who . killed merely once a week, but mon who killed steadily-wbuld be available for the pens with a plentitude of unslullcd assis.. ' tance. -Kach had spoken to other fanners, ..„., and, while they agreed that tho Arbitra- ~_ ~ tion Aot should.eomo first, wero steadily qf opinion that a striko would have to J* ' mct>y tho substitution of other labour. , ••BETTER'FIGHT NOW." .: Palmcrston, January. 13. • '■•...' Fear of a slaughtermen's strike, iS.'jlo»,-■.-'., (erring farmers from buying stock,,owing ~,.;' to the possibility of being unablo to quit when fat. The present lifolessucssof.the martot is attributed partly to this.,and- y t , ■ partly to the backward state of tho'rape k croiis.. AVhilo farmers realise s tho am-;' porWo of refraining, from precipitatinß trouble, the general feeling ; i«, ,tliat. if,. ■, these demands aro going to bo an annual . affair better fight new and have it Over. :■■ ;< •'.«■■ MANNING THE;BOARDS; : r TV: Wangamil, January 13. 'A well-known local farmer, interview*, .. od, says the farmors, of this district orq :,»;; bv no means unnnimovis on the question of manning the boards in the ovent of a striko of staightonncn. Ho eoys to do> - 1 ' : so would not only provoko a needless quarrel ,with the men, but' the farmers ,:;;,. cannot dress sheep sufficiently well to satisfy tho London market." Further; to refuse tho increase asked for— which only-' -yj.','. amounts to a little over. fc halfpenny per"-. head—means that tho farmors will lose:^,, all they stood to make, while to givo it ; will still loavo them a fair profit..';."Apart,:..',:", from tho business aspect, however," ho continued, . "you can tako it from mo .; , that a majority, of tho farmers sympathise.. ,; with the men, Slaughtering is a .rdltcn r, " job, and should lie well paid for.. ,Tht;' '. companies that stand bctwofn the farmen.,;;,' , and the slaughtermon tako it out of both and tho real griovaneo of both is ag.iin's'V tho companies. Tho mnjorit,yofthefnr!i.''...,„ ! *. : ore avo not goine to answer tho call t< man tho boards." TIMARU POSITION. :'■"-.. Tlmaru, January,l3,, < v Tliero is a good deal of talk about whM * , i will happen at tho frecning works whrn , ;; tho mone notico expires on January 17,'- 1 ,.-..,;;,, but no information is available vcgnNiJVl ',. ~>> - tho men's or tho companies' SnteiiUo'"';. It is stated that it is impossible for ■i'9,'l,-'V-farmers to fill the boards, all hands' !,>;''''': ine needed for tho '; ;- , ;'.