A HOLD-UP

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2649, 21 December 1915, Page 8

A HOLD-UP

WOOL STOREMEN FAIL TO TURN TO. At 1 p.m. yesterday the wool storemen employed in the wool stores of Messrs. Dalgety and Co. and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company failed, to'turn to, in resumption of the work suspended when thej . knocked off for luncli. Some thirty 1 men only were concerned in the holdup. These men, who are employed tc handle the wool in the stores' during 1 the season. —which is in full swing jusi now—have no union and do not worl J under an award. They are paid Is J 3d. per hour (10s. a day) and! Is. 6d : per hour for overtime, It is statec that no notice was given as to the intention not to resume work yesterdaj 3 afternoon, and at first, it is said, the ' men concerned did not appear to be 1 very clear as to what they wanted 0 though those who struck had, it ii 1 stated, tried to got the storemen env s ployed by the other wool firms to joii them in the hold-up. As the afternooi developed, however, definite : demandi n wore made by the strikers on the firmi concerned. These demanded an in ~ crease in the rates of pay to Is. 6d a per hour (12s. a day), and 2s. per bou: ' for overtime. A meeting of the Wellington repre ? sentatives of all the principal wool firm was held during yesterday afternoon a the office of Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co. When seen at the conclusion of thi meeting, Mr. W. S. Bennett, secretar; i of the Wellington Woolbrokers' Asso cihtion, stated that ho did not care t say anything about the business. I , was only a small affair, and only con ' corned the wool storemen of Messrs Dalgety and Co! and the Loan an< " Mercantile Company. The storeme ' e in the other firms did not know wha > the men had struck for. But it wa all really nothing. "We can manag all right."