MEAT STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1667, 6 February 1913, Page 8

MEAT STRIKE.

'- — , THE RUSE OF THE UNIONS.. 1 ■ TO EVADE FINES. RUMOUR, ABOUT WAINGAWA. OTHER WORKS. THE FREE MEN DOING WELL, : Everywhere that . conversation turned / . upon strike matters' yesterday,, the sole topic was tho action .of the slaughtermen ; 'in seeking again, tho protection of the Arbitration, Act'. Various tire the reasons assigned for the unions' action. The most frequent is that the . unions are anxious ' to prevent ■:: •tho registration of. other bodies of workers, now referred, to as 1 , "free: labourers," ■and by-a'less polite,te'rm.C,. ; There is no doubt .that this, reason hail, a deal to' do with the-'hastening of ! Ihd* • unions' new move, but .'it appears to lie'a' fact that the unions intended, Ifroin the. beginning, to act .as they have now done.' They have evaded .the, fines'tinder the . Act, and now they can got tho support of tho Act'bohihd an agreement, should such' bo mado with any !oiE ( the. companies. ; . : If slaughtering wora an:ordinary,trade, if it iwere.rn: business: in. which' ..delay :: • meanti'no''ita'dro than 'postponed profits,. | 'the of. the'unioni would have availi >cd them nothing. ; The companies might I have at once created :n .; dispute in tho l way .which the law provides for, and an n \ award would have been brought into existsl .cnce, .is,, a.•seasonal trade, > \ and ueiav in .production—if tho. delay,is ior ally term of'raore than n.few.idays— : total business, for that venr. . So, if tho . companies (were .to hail the slaughtermen before the: Court, it would be certainly more than a month, and very probably threo months later,' before an .. , award could be obtained, and'even then, if it did not please the. men, they,-need 'not accept work on .the term& : laid "down ; ■ . tinder it.: 'It...is'..very,unlikely, s therefore, that the ootnpanies wilUinvoko the aid of the Court,. which; ;islpowerlesß: to assist them. '•■ ji' l Especially will they.be slow, to set the law in motion in view,'of tho ready re-' uponso a number of: the country companies mo finding to their;calls for.'free;labour. : ■ f , It is, after all,;a";very slight advantage' to the employers l to havo the'men bound under an award/ when they can throw off the yoke of tho Act so, easily. All the ' .advantage is,on-the.sido of the men, ivho •; Bot .n Government official to see that the terms of urn award fire carried out instead ■ of having toVstriko : every time some new ■..., : condition'is imposed by tho employer. This, it ls'saidi is the main reason which : /actuated tho,unions in 1 '.deciding to reregister; aVsopn'atf all danger of' Sites was :<otit'of tfie-wajr.- ...- ! ; ' " Everjrwherii to' : the'pr6yiiieial' towns 'of' . ' the No'fth'.ilsland colue accounts of num-'' ... bers of men'',having ,teen engaged, to man tho killing boards. Vln every case whero.' labour' is available, things .have run i '■ smoothly, and no-'trouble has' occurred • • with other hands at 'tho'.works, ' '•! i Mr; Reardon's Sudden .Mission North, i .-4. It is, understood.that, : Mr. M. J, 'Bear- :.. v don, • secretary ■o£ • the 'federation,' left for ■ Napier yesterday, and'that his visit has to do with' the, declared 1 intention* of the ;* • Freezers' > Union there not j tov strike in V sympathy" with the slaughtermen.' 'He ■ certainty-left i' this '■ morning, v nnrt it is'bfelieved that Nripier was his destination', ' and ' that .his' business- there was as stated. If' tho freezers'should strike in sympathy .with' the slaughter- . men tho position' would. be ' that moa . earning from >j6B to ;E4 a week would -be , striking to enable men who formerly . . .carried, jS7/a 'yieefi, who' aro now offered '••• : ' '.JSB a Week, to ( hold out .for. ;^9•;£■' week. ... It will be' interesting' to.' learns what;.the' ./• freezers . .will finally decide to do. Nalure of the Waingawa Rumour. An interesting Tumour is'going tho rounds at Masterton.': ''It is stated that the agreement arrived at some days'ago between tho' Waingawa Freezing Compauy and tho :Slaughtermen'.s ; Union has , not yet been signed, the Tefisoh. given being ' that the' negotiations on. either sido ar- ■ Tanged ."that in the event of '.other ifreez- . ■;. ing r companies getting .better, terms; from . the.men, Hie "SVaingawa. Company'shnli get similar ,terms/ ' The, story-'bsars tho. • ; impress of probability, for the Waingawa Company wtttild ; be'"in a ljopeless' position to oompeto with Irivnlsiif it'were required to pay higher rates at';the 'works. THE WATERSIDE ATTITUDE, HANDLING FREE-MEN'S OUTPUT. ■ (By Telegraph.—rress Association.) . Christchurch,-February 5. 'A' most interesting development in the slaughterman's dispute is the applications of,: three big unions concerned (including Canterbury) under , tho , Arbitration'rAct. .' The move: is-a "slim" '• one, designed to protect;th& men on strike ~ against; the fonniition of . what aro'termed . "scab;unions" and a' V gin on the lines of the Waihi strike; j Iftianwhile the position of tho" contend- . . lug parties is unchanged. The companies aro to have had a certain rei. .. ... aponse to their apDlication for free labour, j : " lint have not yet fixed a date for restarting their work. Tho slaughtermen still maintain that no experts; will: offer-themselvesi ,' ■-. and that, learners available wilt be incom- ' pstent to do anything like .satisfactory' wcrk, and will be unable to brealc tho '.J® 6 * ot the strike. The'companies, on tho ot-iior hand, aro said to welcome a fiooppage of a. week or two, and have not : . been inconvenienced so. far. ' • Tho attitude of the watei'sidp workers to-, vard new unions .w'ill.'hnye.a'niim'poriant ' . Ijeoring on the struggle between the men' • : and the com names. The two unions are : tiow affiliated to ono anothor. but. it is confidently asserted .thatj if., freo .labour, ■' . is put on the v,-ork, thp-istevedores will' , ''jefuso to handle ..the hieat. J The matter'- . r S i t 6n before tho waterside workers, ri 1' rt,fp " e, )/to tho executive , L . -^™^ ra tion of .Labour for pronounce-.

■ F.REE LABOUR, ' , ■■ GOING ON "WELL, ; ci ,1 Gisborno, February 5.- _ Slaughtering. operations, under free f™wi co ? d, i9 >ns » 1 continued:' "satisfactorily to-day at tlio -ICaiti -and Tokof'kinr 1 ™ svero 23 lnetl - on tho , bisborne ; Sheep larmers' Frozen Meat • Company 3 boards whsn work resumed " ' u°, rn i n ''' but , . Mreral of men tj ho had fteou worknig-on two previous dap were absent through minor injuries, . cuts, etc. At l o clock the number bail , been strengthened to 27. The company ' nt T. mcnM they-'.como along until the board is mado up to 40 Questioned as to tho -position Mr. C i\' I RIJJ (chairman of directors) stated that tho work was very satisfactory—quite up to the averago of tho ex- , perts. i'here ' was nothing, whatever to complain ot oh tho cooling . floor yesterday.. ■ . Mr. do Latour continued: "Wo are quite satisfied: that, whether tho slaughtermen remain out or not, wo shall get through tho season with satisfaction to otir customers.- While it will be a matter for regret if it has to be done without tho assistance of past servants who have dono this work well, still, that -is not going to prevent us from x fulfilling out contracts with our clients. A Tho interval' that must expire before a'full board is : ' efficient will cause somo delay, but I do not anticipate that wo will bo incoiivonienced, taking' into account tho advanced » stage of tho season and tho feed that is available. 'Another thing that-is disappointing it is absolutely necessary to rcdtice tho number of hands attendant upon tho ontput of tho slaughter board that w'ould otherwise be omploy- % ed. /That,' however, is quite beyond thocontrol of tho com.piny until tho work • attains it? normal limits." This afternoon. Mr. A. Dowing (manager of Messrs. . Nelson Bros'., Taruherit works) informed a reporter that it had tell decideij to resume operations at

Tarttherti on Monday. The works will resume with the assurance of a full board of slaughtermen. As a matter of fact tho company could have made a start: today, but, in view of Thursday and Friday being, race days, the employees generally prefer to attend the same, and Saturday, being a ,half-day, it had been Arranged to postpone the start till Mon- , day. « 1 111'. Dewing added that tliero wonld be no difficulty whatever in filling the board. The men who were being taken on wore • outsiders, although several had killed at Tomoana at different times. Tho new hands were mostlv from tho country, and they had a knowledgo of tho work. 'There are now 18 men on tho boards at Tokomaru, and work is going along quietly. Mr. M. J. Rcardon is expected horo 011 Friday, and, as a mass meeting of tho Freezers' Union is .convened for Monday night, probably something definite as to the attitude of freezers will bo then forthcoming. WANGANUI WORKS. Wanganul, February 5. The Watignnui 'Freezing Company's call • for freo labour has been responded to by twenty men, and it is anticipated by the management that tho works will be in full swing again with full boards on Monday. ' FREEZING WORKERS MEET. Hastings, February 5. The Freezing Works Industrial union , of; Workers held a meeting last night : when 200 were present, including practically all tho workers other, than slaughtermen from local works. The meeting was not open to tho press. Information supplied Ijy the secretary this morning is to the effect that as insufficient notice of the meeting had been given no resolution , ,was passed, but the position was fully discussed, and it was "agreed that tho members of tho union should remain at work irrespective of the, fact that tho killing boards are manned by free labourers. WAINGAWA AGREEMENT. (By Telegraph.—Special Oorreapondent.) , Masterton, February 5. The report that the agreement between the Wellington Farmers'-Meat Company and the Waingawa slaughtermen was not yet • signed is quite correct. Interviewed to-night; Mr. J. C. Cooper, chairman of directors of the company, stilted that a draft of' tho agreement had been prepared and sent ,to the secretary of the Slaughtermen's Federation for his •perusal. Although this agreement has not yet been actually signed, both sides .■have been observing Its terms as from Thursday last.