CEMENT WORKERS ON STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1856, 16 September 1913, Page 7

CEMENT WORKERS ON STRIKE.

ABOUT 250 MEN AFFECTED. . (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Auckland, September 15. Word was received from Warkworth tlm morning that tho, employees of Wil- .. son's Portland Cement Works had gone . ' out on strike, - Tho reason tlio men givo is that the demands for increased wages have not been granted by tho directors of the' company. The last agreement made under tho auspices of the Federation of Labour expired in August. ' Mr. Geo. Elliott, chairman ot directors of the company, when approached by a leporter tins morning, said tlio position was exactly as stated. The men .had struck for higher wages, which tlio company Was not prepared to givo. Ho explained that tho men had issued a warning that unless tho demands wero agreed to-by Saturday they would strike. The directors woro willing to enter into negotiations, and went down to Warkworth on Saturday afternoon. Tliey discussed tlie position with the men and offered to mcot thom in ono or two particulars. In the evening, however/thb ■union representatives had announced that .thoy woro not prepared to accept n compromise. Wages wero tho trouble, nml they were quite satisfied with tho conditions of labour. Unless. the employers agreed to the wliolo of tho demands made by the union representatives they ha:l decided to'refer tho matf ter back to tlio people. 1 The demands of the men amount practically to an inorcaso all round of Is. per, shift, in dome cases more, and in . Eonio cases less. The immediate effect of tho strike is that about 140 men are ■ . idle and tho works aro idlo. Taking ■ i into consideration that four or five boats engaged l in tho trado will havo nothing ■ to do, there will be in all about ' 250 men affected by the strike, quite apart ( from further effects upon coal boats attached to the industry.