MEAT STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1664, 3 February 1913, Page 5

MEAT STRIKE.

EFFECT ON PETONE'S TRADE. CHANCES OF RESUMPTION. , LOT OF TIIE OUT-OF-WORK MEN. In tho one town in New Zcnlamli wlticV , is going to feel the cffects of theVmeat strike in. an • intimate domestic .waA-l'O'' tone—as littlo, interest is being- talceii "ir 1 the business as if it were something hi*)' .pening .somewhere far away.. liven the ... companies' manifesto, published ion Satur< dayfailed to arouse any moro than n passing interest. Ordinary readouts, who ore not out of work as a-Fesult'Xjf the* 4 , closing of the works, eecm to have accepted tho strike as somo sort of necessary annoyance, giving littlo thought' asv to •• what' tho final outcome of it is likely ' to i*.

- Next to tho men out of work—and there are hundreds of them who are unwillingly ' out of work—tho chief sufferers will bo . ; , the shop-keepers. They are'not.-liking outsiders into "their/confidence 'as to how; ,V they pro]>ose to run their businesses in the critical time ahead, but it is undtN' V.' stood they are following tho policythey declared somo weeks ago—tx> give credit ' t ' to moat-works hands who liavo been, their -1 customers for a period and to open, no, ■ new accounts with men out of work. It is said that already both workers and shop-keepers aro beginning to feel tho. pinch moro or loss seriously. •• • h In order to understand how closely the ' shoe is - likely to fit in somo cases, ono must know tho circumstances of tho men; ■ Tho bulk of the meat-works .hands at > Petono being resident in the town expect to get most of theiri annual .incomo in .the season while the works aro running. In the off season thev are casual labour-' V.\ erf; only,* Somo of- them got fairly full , employment as such, but a great many ofthem do nothing at all during the winter.: The result is that they aro frequently embarrassed financially when' tho season., ■ onens, but they finish up the rammer with" all debts paid and a fair balance to credit. This year they have had only half a sea-' son. and the prospect of a longer lean Wnot a pleasing.one for them. All this does not apply to the butchers, who, being highly paid men, mostly have ; > enough money to provide for at least immediate necessities.! It applies to tho great body of works omployecs, who receivo good wages, .but not by any means. so good as the slaughtermen. ■• 1 . Ono hears of individual cases- of hard-" ' filup-of tho man, for instance, who has been wording for 17 years for tho Gear ' Company, 'ond for tho first timo in all f thoso 17 years went to Work this year at tho beginning of.. tho season out of debt. ■ He; doesn t support the strikers, and there are very many in similar plight who do not support, them. Indeed, it is an undoubted fact that tho publio i opinion of Pctone.is entirely opposed to' the action .the slaughtermen havo' taken. '■ Even amongst the butchers there ar« those who,aro quite willing to go on lit tho rate of 27b. Cd. per hundred, or oven . at tho old rate of 255., but now. that liie strike is on they havo no influence. Tho general opinion m Petono is that tho G<!ar' Company, at any rate/ liavo no : ohanco of: starting their,works with free lal/iur,engaged .on tho spot.' If .workers arc'-'to! bo' found to replace tho strikers they mttst come from a distance, and even if they ■ are obtained tho other hands may refuse to work with.them. -It is'said that very ma'hy of'the;hands, including not a few of tho butchers, would like to go back to ■ work, but for the dreaded name that tlicy- 1 would assuredly bo called. -That is tho position now, and it will not change until something definite is: done, or the neccssi- • ties of the men affected drive them to ■ take another view of tho situation. Scarcely suilioient timo has elapsed for I■ , tho. companies to take steps to fill their works with free labour, and so far os can bo learned, no definite move of tlio eort-has .been madohero yet. Smaller works in- Hawko's ; Bay, Poverty Hay. ;. i Mahniwatu, and Wanganui, aro reported ' to have an excellent chance', of getting f tho labour they want, and 6omo of the : companies in tho South Island aro hopeful of'being able to dp to. . At present no evidences of any expected resumption of either of the. Wellington ■ works are apparent.; No sheep,have been brought in, and there aro no rumours ctor-;.. rent as to possible' developments in . tho' immediate future. Discussing tho strike with' a Dominion repotWr,"'Mr:'M. J. Rcardon said: "It looks to mo as if the season is over. That's" my opinion, anyhow. Our men aro taking other'work,'aud". I am advising them to do SO." <• . : . .'."j.-.

POSITION AT GISBORNE. . FAEMERS TO 'pk6VEDB : LABOUE; • ' (By Tclcgraph.—PrcßS Association.). ; , Glsboriie, February 2. Considerably over 100 iJioepfaimers, in« eluding!some of tho moijt prominent, in, Poverty Bay, met on Saturday, in connection with tho slaughtering dispute, Tho official announcement to tHopress. ■, "That tho sheepfaruiers of tliis district': will unanimously, stand by tlio'comyauioa through thick and thin, and they will boo • that labour is forthcoming should it'bo ).,r required. Several names <if men willing to i do /duty at tho killing loard if; required ' ; were handed in." Tho names' wero' thoso of station hands said to,b® adept with tho ; knifci. l , (►,. :■ ■ ' iMvjiw;.'-,.J,'.,,..1/ .•u-""-It,was;stated) on .behalf „ of tho 'Kaili works that the companies had secured six slaughtermen willing ;to start on, Monday morning on tho companies' terms, and tho ; Works will open with a" .board or abolit a, , dozen slaughtermen.' ' ■; Tho Tokomaru works havo secured 14 slaughtermen to start on i Monday,' and it is hoped that a start will be mado at Taruheru in ti day or two. .: ■.•: Tho decision of the Freezers' Union not to strike in sympathy with tho slaughter- : men is being much-disoiissed, and. tho" . secretary of tho Slaughtermen's Union - . told a reporter that he, with'most of tho slaughtermen, believed that the Freezers*"-""* Union had taken a right' and proper course. His union had not nslieu • thefreezers to do anything yet. There was • no agreement between tlicm, 1 but, hp, .felt sure they would act as the slaughtermen's 1 body .requested theriii to.' The Slaughter- i men's Unionimeets op Monday night, and a suggestion is mado that they'will then , ! ask tho freezers to striko'in sympathy.' ." r

CHRISTCHURCH UNION. A MEETING ; (By Telegraph:—Press 'Association.) 1 ' Chrlstcliurch, February a.. A meeting of tho Canterbury Slaughter mori's Union will bo held 011 Monday oven- ' ing to further discuss matters in connection with tho disputo. A reporter' ondenvoured to obtain from tho secretary'Of-:--tho union somo information as to the bust- !. ness to bo dealt with by the mooting, but ho was unsuccessful, tho secretary stating ' that ho could give 110 iuformhtiou on tho subject. Ho added that whatever decision was arrived at by tho meeting would be first communicatod to tho freezing companies. 1 Thcsecretary was asked if ho would say anything regarding tho issuo of tho conference of freezing companies hold in Wellington on Friday, but ho dated that any reply to statements contained in a telegram conveying tho results of tho conferonco would do mado by tho union.