MENACE TO THE CITY'S MEAT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1904, 12 November 1913, Page 8

MENACE TO THE CITY'S MEAT.

FEDERATION'S ACT; SCHEME TO STOP THE SUPPLIES. Tho strike was the only topic discussihl at tiie monthly meeting of tho ' Wellington Industrial Association Inst / evening. i Mr. T. Bailinger, who lmd been ap- ) pointed to represent- tho, association on ( 'Fnrm.ttrs 5 ., and Citizens' ) JMenco Committee, reported that on ) the previous day i.toii r.ntl otlior \ materials Were landed on tlio wjiiaii }' from the liimutaka, but when the goods t were token to his Victoria Street warfi- § house that afternoon neither his fore- i; man nor the other men would hafjollo them, though lie had kept the men /■ doing odd jobs for weeks until these v goods arrived. On carting the material to tho Dixon Street warehouse, the ■ glassfyiishcrs and tinsmiths, etc., to the' ' ■■■ number Of 27, all departed, leaving onl; three foremen' and two apprentices That was a sample of what cmployeri ' had to put up with. Someone even had tho hnpudcnce to telephone and nsk hinr !■ if the ''ink-slingers'® (clerks) were com* >. ing out. The men were not unionist's, cither, and had not- been 'told to como out, and, moreover, this, materia) had ;,', not been handled by free labour, but by properly organised union men. M/m of tho Waterside Union wore joining ,\'f tho new Arbitration T'nioir in large l\ numbers, and fob opinion was that those \ who did not join soon would be left out i,n the cold, because the workers ttiio •' had oome from tho countrv were earn-' ■ ing £5 aiid £G a week instead of their.:,;., customary 30s. and all found, so they;:-,' would not want to go back. It was ,a.:'; pleasing sight to see these men Worfc,' : i as on© man did what it always took two f tq do. The usual thing was to see one \ man wheeling a truck and the other ) walking aloug ft'ith his hand on tho i load, and ho did not think any om- £ ployer was justified to paying two men 1 for ono man's work, On tiie previous clay, however, and that day, the go.ods i were being loaded and unloaded in splendid fashion. His (tho speaker's) J men had knocked off svork without J'hyme or rpason, though they had been drawing frages wlioil only wdiitowashiug and killing time until the iic. ■ livery of tkc.se materials. That showed tho Jitter folly of tire leaders : calling out men in constant work. Mis . men were -not allied to the Labour Federation, but (hoy were afraid of being called "scabs*" This action Was the result of a kindness in offering to take a driver, whom everybody respected, into tho shop, so that- ho need not go out when the drivers wero called out, and tho secretary of the barters' Union bad told him tlvat, though this was a kind action on bis part-, it Was unwise, as the pickets would see the driver working there, aiid there would perhaps be damage to the premises.

abattoir and Butchors' Shops Menaced:.

• Sir, Bull reported an oven mote serious condition of affairs. His firm, he id, held the contract.for the daily removal of refuse from the abattoir 'and two collection ajjd removal of bones, fat,' etc., from the butchers' shops. "That morning a carte* rang him up, and informed him that they had all to oeaso wont at 12 o'clock, Tho carter added that at the meeting the previous ovenhe asked the secretary if they did not coma under the same 'exemption as ' city scavengers, but tlio secretary re- ) plied that- they had all to coiiio out. ) lie (Mr, Bull) therefore interviewed llio secretary of the Carters' Union, and ! though the room was full of Red. Fed-,' oratiouists,. ho told him what such drastic action.meant, that his men were oil i all foiirs with the city scavengers, and that thoir cessation of work ivould d» ' a serious , menace to the city. lii tho event of their failure to remove the reiuso the city abattoir would at once ho closed, as no killing would be allowed ■ whilst tefuse was lying about. The health Department would also step in ;

if the butchers' shops wore not cleaned daily. The seetetary promised Mm ad answer during the day, but none came, so that evening ho rang ! him up, and was told that the matter had been fully discussed, and that lie would get 110 exemption fof his men. He told tho secretary what such aii action meant-*-! that it was an absolute attempt to stop tho meat supply of the ci'v, because the butchers would have to shut their shops, and tho abattoir would bo closed if tho scavenging work ivas Hot attended to ci_aily. / Hi> asked tlicm to reconsider the matter, biit tho secretary replied that it had had every consideration, and that iio exemption would be granted, i.hat was nothing but ai.i. attempt to

Stop, the city's Meat.

Noire of tho cartel's wanted' to come out; but they wero afraid to continue at work. Hp called for volunteers, and one ihaii wlio !had been with Jiiiii thirty years stuck tojti W , whilst two others said: \« lio will help que wives and families if ivo go out?" so between thorn the work would be continued. Tho abattoir manager realised tho -seriousk*®3 w tlio --position, aiid had telephoned twice, b.it ho had assured lijiH. tli-it work w.oiultj go on. As a matter of fact, ho was. going out on tho cart himself. (Applause.) Thev paid their men 4s. and' ss. a week abov'o tlio award wagesi because it was a. .dirty class of work.. Sortie of the men wanted to. change places with tlio other stall but ho said, "No; you nro drivers, and if you don't like to drive you call ge out."

Mr. Partridge thought it was inCiim- ' .bent on citizens now to protect their i rights. ' Sir. Bailinger : It is tlio citizens they ' will lir.vo to reckon with now, and if the meat supply is stopped the 'City,' will soon bo up in arms, Mr, Bull added that this was a more ■ serious menace to tlio health of the City than stopping the dustmen wouldbe, and the City sea'vongere were ex--1 ompt. Mr. Partridge asked when the coal would bo landed. The chairman replied that the City Was well off for coal, as t-licre wefciv thousands of tons in tlio. stream. Preforcnco to Unionists Clause Exploded. it was remarked ill,it many .men became unionists because preference was given to union men, but Mr. Ualliiiger exploded this theory, and explained that before a non-union workman Riu.kl bo replaced by a union xnan, or eolild be forced to beoouw Si member of tlio itnfen liinvsHf, the Union, must provide tho <mti!-\vcr with an equally good man, w'h:/' was a member 1 and that the uiiron could not always do. In Mr. Hull's ease his men were specialists, and the union «owM-. not supply 'him with union men capable iff doing tho work, and thereiovo they could not legally object to .bis onvploying non-union men, St. Partridge thought that tin? OlaWS'O' with regard to giving prcKuvure to unionists should. be opposed, and struck out, and several nwmihers expressed tho - opinion that preference to unionists would not hold good under t-lie British' Constitution if tested. The meeting then resolved itself into committee.