NOT A SURPRISE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1658, 27 January 1913, Page 5

NOT A SURPRISE.

WILL OTHER COMPANIES FOLLOW , SUIT.

A "PISE" OP 30s. A WEEK,

Tho 'arraiigfniDnt come to nt Mastodon was by ho means a surprise to responr siblo oflicefs of the Wellington companies. It is an open secret that tho chairman pf directors .of tho Wellington Eqrmers' Meat Company was inclined to-tho viewthat the slaughtermen's demands ought to have been conceded wheu theconferoncs of pompapy representatives mat ia Welling*

ton on January 17 Inst. His proposal found ino favour, however—indeed, it found very special disfavour— witli the other companies' Toprcsenta-' tives. present, and eventually, it, iij understood, ho agreed to enter into tho agreement with tlie other delegates, -tp offer 275. ud., and to leavo that offer open for seven days. Before the expiry of that time a rumour was in circulation to tho, effect that the directors of tho oompany had decided to grant the 30s. demand, and this rumour, although no confirmation of it could bo'obtained, turns out; now to have been founded on fact. At any rato tho morning after tho seven days' agreement expired tho company met the men in conference, and Mr. M, 'j. Keardon had arrived from Wellington on time to attend it. . - " The advances made by tho Mastortpn Company to their men \y?is viewed on, Saturday with vastly- different feelings by tho leaders, in the tw;o rival camps,' Union, members are delighted, and profess to, ?ee in # the beginnings of the breaking down of tho employers'' resistance. On the', tit ii* i® 11 " 1 I '«Prescutn,tiYca.of tiie Wellington companies. by- no 1 means ,api prove of tho independent' move made by the new company. ' Comparisons of Output, ' A policy of strict retjocnco has bcim followed by tha heads of the Wellington companies, but it is safe to say that their future actions would not under ciny circumstances bo seriously influenced for the recent action, of tho ainpawa Compauv. In the first place tho output of the Waingawa works is only about 2000 lambs ptr day and rather less if sheep are being killed, and the capacity of the' dear works is nearly 8000, lambs. ,The Ngahau- ! ranga works can. receive about (5000 lanibs per daj'i . So that th,e running of the W'ailigowa, works makes but little durance so far a3 the solution of tho growers' difficulties is concerned. ' Fortunately : fir them, the recent rains have stimulated the growth of grass and rape, and . no general shortage of feed will occur for soiile time. Clients of the Wellington - : panies who were short of grass were for V* 'n ; the, works for their fat lambs, in the last two weelcs before the works closed, and it was then admitted, that the farmers were in • tii^ 6 i Cr i P ° S 1 1. 11 '° « siege than they had ever been before in any'freezing season. : . ■. » " . ■ - ; The Tormt Explained."" ' \ ; As our Masterton •, correspondent ■ explains, the terms of the'new agreement" are pr&otically those of the- award, W(th. the exception' of, tho new rate of oOs, pet; hundred.' • There is one iuipprtant variation, however, overtime is to. be. paid lor at, the rate of time and a'half,\ instead of time aud a quarter, ana no. overtime i§ to, be worked on Saturdays. Vndpr the old aijaul existing before , tho strike, the men be vew;ed to' work Until i p. ill, on Saturday, all afternoon wprk w that day being paid'at oV cri time rates., It. will be noted-also -that slaughtermen have not" insisted upon thei? ; one-in.twenly learners'' clause,' "hey have, succeeded to eorno extent in their claim, in that they havoi had enw bodied ill the'agreement the. proviso that only one set of learners, is to be taken on : in any one season. . Hitherto the com; panic? have always held that learners,,bo soon as, thoy could kill and dress eight sheep an hour, ;became skilled slaughtermen. and that (new learners. ooula " be taken on to tho board to replacc them. A smart youth; who, uses a knife, will acquire tho pight-an-hour fpeed in .' less than a season if he meets with no accidents. . ' ■'

It. may interest those who have no knowledge of the export industry* to learn' that the increased, >ato'. to slaughtermen, will mean *in' ; mcreaso iu pay for tnent . gOs. for a full week's; work. An average fast man can earn in a full week at, 255. per 100 as much as £1 lOs.j npw, for: tho. same work,;ho will (it, AYaiijSftWft _Itis ti very' long tune einoe the' Arbitration' Court or any body of muted au increase.in, pay of so ru.ueh as 30s. p?r.week to wprki eiis m their employ,:':V, ' AN M.P. AT PETONH. Tho announcement by f. M. Wil-. ford, M.P., that ho would deliver" an nildress regarding tho ; elatfjhtermen's strike' at St; Augustine's Hall, l'etone, on Satur-. day evening, did not, ?voke: any'very : em response on 'the, patt either of tho general public or of the slaughtermen! At eight, o'clock, %. liour iiam«V for starting, there were about thirty pepplij in the hall, ; but none , of them were slaughtermen, .""About.; fifty' or- sixty slaughtcrinon oongregated outside. Up, to. half-past eight o'clock no start wag made. 1 Some of the slaughtermen asked Mr,'WiU ford whether tho was for them alone, or' waa to be open to tho jjfcnerai public. When it beoaiiie known that th«i meeting was open to the publio, a number, of the slaughtermen dechijed to attend. • Just before half-past eight, tlio people who had in the hair and thoi press representatives who were present went outside, and it looked as though the meeting would be abandoned. Mr. ford, however, spoke to the slaughtermen who had assembled outsido the,hall, tell-' ing them that ho was not going .to' talk about their* strike j they had' responsible delegates, he said, and ho did not wish to interfere, with what , they were doing. He invited them to oome inside, and \yei\t; inside hinVssdf. About ten "or ' a "dozen' slaughtermen accepted the invitation! the remainder dispersed and went up town. Eventually the meeting got under way, just after half-past eight. Mr. 'J. Boivlca acted a*.chairman,.! At' iliis stage, thero were about ft, hundred people in tho liall,; including about a dozen slaughtermen. .Mr, Gilford said that the strike vaa a very serious thing for the Dominion, and explained that lie was there to* talk matters over ftnd not to take a side, for or figa\nst the slaughtconen, .-He went op to strongly urge that the dempnd for paj> ment of 30s. a hundred should be grunted.; T)(o deriiand, he said/ was a jiißt * lie. and lie advanced a miraiwr of-arguments in support of this contention. It hud beei) reported, lie continued, that tlie slaughtermen' were a floating population, This/was not Ituo o,f the slaughtermen at' IV.ono and. Ngaluiuri\n'gti.' If had been' said that a number of slaughtermen wpre getting •'X9 a week. ■. This wps grossly exaggerated, The pripps o| stopk sliaiycd q'cqiisiderpblo iil'ovease as with years ago. The increases in pripe justified tho • demand of the slaughtermen for in'preasetl wages. He advocated (in aiyard dpiboijyin'g a, sliding scalo undpr winch tho'ymges pf slaughtermen vquld riso (ind fyll in sympathy with the rise and 'fall in the pripo pf..?tflcki Regnrflinjf, the learners', oljvuse in the, elaughternicn's demands, Mr. Wilford said, that tl\ey yrere' yetoiig in demanding ' lfsariiora should not eicped pn'p to twenty {slaughtermen. In conclusion, Mr. Wilfqrd snuj, that lie did nqt jfchM that there ma going to' bo any diffipulry about getting the thirty'shillings, The aotiPU pf tlio company nt Wfis the beginning of the end,.. •'