WOOLLEN MILL STRIKE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2728, 24 March 1916, Page 8

WOOLLEN MILL STRIKE

STATEMENT BY THE UNIONS. SECRETARY Following the resolution by tho woollon mill owners refusing to grant tho 10 per cent, bonus demanded by the Potone Woollen Mill Union, the secretary of the union (Mr. E. Kennedy) has tt'.ado tho following statement: — "When the parties met in conference with I;hc Hon. Mr. JUyers,' a proposal was made by the local employers that wo should withdraw our notice and have a conference with all the mill-owners of the Dominion. This suggestion we declined, for the reason that tho dispute was only a local one between'our union and the local employers, and we could not bring the souhcrn mills as partios to this dispute. It is evident, by the resolution passed l by the confer-, enco of mill-owners held here during tho last day or two, that tho employers, on their own initiative, have • evidently extended the dispute between the loeri union and themselves, and have apparently endeavoured to get the mill-owners oFthe Dominion to stand on their side against conceding the local union's demands. They say in tho resolution that they cannot agree to tho 10 per cent, bonus above the award rates, because such lates were agreed to by the respective i unions and confirmed in the Court of' Arbitration. To this wo reply: ■Wlicrethe agreements were made by tho respective unions, to the sorrow of the workers employed in thor southern mills, with one exception (tho Oamaru Comt'any), the mill-owners went back on tho agreement, and in this • the Arbitration Court played a part. Tho conference which agreed to the award rates mentiosud by the resolution met in Christchurch in July, 1914, and the agreement was to become operative as from August 1, 191-1. The Court sat 'in Wellington ou August 9, 1914, andl the union in 'Wellington was successful in getting the agreement converted into an award of the Court, and ae for as Wellington and otlior mills in the north are concerned the agreement was operating as from August 1, 19i*. But shortly after this date the Court suspended its operations. Consequently it did not reach Ounodin until some time m December. The decision of the Court when the union applied for the Court to antedate tho award! back to August 1, 1914, •was "that the award Should 1 come into operation on December 23, 1914. •" .Therefore. allowing for the slight increase-in wa<rbs (2s. a week) obtained for the workers as the result of the conference in July the fuiluro of the employers to keep the agreement and pay the mcram.od as from August 1, IJH, resulted in tho workers being deprived of the amount of £2 2s. each, which, they would have received had the increase been, paid as from August 1. .When tho ftourt sat m Cliristdnirch and this, agreement came up for ratification, Mr. Pryor, who was deputy:employers' representative on the Court, toot liis seat in place of Mr. Scott. Mr. .Cooper appeared on behalf of the employers, and again, notwithstanding the application made, by the union for the ante-dating of the award to August 1. ] f)l4, the Court again refused to adopt i"his course. In this instance, allowing for the increase of 2s. the workers apain suffered a loss of £2 2s. each. ""Had the southern employers kept to the aereement made at the conference in Christchurch in July. 1.914, and ■had the Court ante-dated the award bade to August 1.'"1914, the workers in the southern mills would have had distributed among them a total of over £3000, which, of course, the employers ilid not pay from the date of the agreement, but,'from the dnte of the operation of tho award. The memorandum attached to the Otarrn Woollen Mills omployeos' award (which also annhes'te tho Canterbury mills)! is as follows:— 'This award embodies, except as to the date from which the increase of waces is to take place, the recommendations of the Conciliation Council, which tho parties agreed to accept. Mr., JiJ'CuP lough desires to record his dissent from the decision of the majority of tho Court declining to yield to the conten : tion of the workers' representatives that the award should, a.s regards wages, operate retrospectively as from August'! last (1914). Ho thinks that the result of the conference between the workers and the employers in July, 1914, imposes the employers a clear moral obligation to pay the increased wages as from the date named.'

"The employees'! have evidently modo this local 'dispute into a Dominion dispute on their side. Therefore the responsibility must rest with the local employers, and not the locaJ. union, if this dispute extends to other parts of the Dominion." THE AWARD ADHERED TO. ■ The abovo statement was referred to Mr. A. E. Donne, secretary of the Wellington 'Woollen - Company, who said that Mr. '.Kelmedy was correct in that the award,' although agreed to by both, employers arid employed and was submitted to the Court for ratification, did not come into operation on the same ,date' at each centre, the employees at Petone having the advantage of some morfths.. Hisvcompany agreed with the' other, mill-owners to adhere to the award, and could not, in justice to the them, consider the granting of an increase of 100 per cent, more than was Being paid in the. south as a war bonus without placing tlie whole position before them. Tliis was done, and the association passed a 'resolution, as already published, dissenting from a 10 per cent, being given by liis company." MEETING .OF THE WORKERS, A'well-attended meeting of the woollen, worlccrs Wiis held at Petone Jast evening. Amongst other matters discussed was a case in which .two girls who had left'the" mill applied for employment at a clothing factory, and arranged to commence work on N Mooday iast. Upon putting in an appearanco on the day mentioned they were told that they would not be wanted. It is Stated tnat in one case the employer explained that the advertisement to which the girls answered should have been, but was not, withdrawn. Owiug to the closing of the Petone Mills there was a shortage of material, and the foreman pointed out that it would scarcely bo fair to engage fresh hands when somo of their own might have to be put olf. In the other instance, the explanation made was that the girls stated that they had been earning £2 per week at Petone, and that they were insufficiently experienced at his class of work to bo paid that amount at the outset. As there was a possibility of the mills re-opening at any time, it was hardly likely tlioy would remain with him when they could earn more at Petone.

Tlio secretary of the union (Mr. E. Kennedy) stated last evening that four cases of a similar nature had been reported. Mr. Kennedy added that a telegram had been from the Canterbury woollen workers, expressing their approval of the stand taken .by tlio Potona workers.