TIMBER MILLS IDLE

Hokitika Guardian, 29 April 1930, Page 2

TIMBER MILLS IDLE

DIFFICULTIES OF INDUSTRY

(Auckland “Star.”)

Timber mills throughout the A tie Ivan d province are at present idle, and rlien they resume operations on '.lonlav alter a prolonged Easter holiday, hey will le compelled to work reduced louns owing to heavy importations (it oreign timbers. ,

The industry has been labouring un'er difficulties for several years now, I: is stated by those competent to udge the situation, that conditions to!i(y are worse than they have ever been. The position of stagnation can he pronip tly remedied, however, by the placing of restrictions on the importation o) -oreign weds, such as sashes and doois and sawn timbers.

“AI y personal feeling is that the trouble in the industry can be sur-. mounted without injury to anyone. We aave the timber and can supply tin* goods in this country in the majorty <>l cases. Where we cannot do that, we can import the required timber in bulk If the Government would only close i o wu ' oil importation for 12 months it would place 4000 men in work in New Zealand within six months.” This outspoken statement, was'.made id Auckland by.Mr- E. j.. Phelan, secretary /.If the Timber Workers’ Tjnioii when discussing, factors that contribute to the,'slackness: of the timber,,industry and that are engaging the attention of both employer and employee. DIFFICULTIES OF EMPLOYERS.

‘We; . as- a .union, appreciate more ■chan finybady else,the difficulties uml- , or wlijieh the.mill owners are labouring’? .Mr Phelan added, in-directing gtten-,. tion to the fact that the union and the employers were co-operating with one another in efforts to solve their common difficulties. Early last week, he pointed out, he had received the fol lowing letter from the manager of the Tnupo Totarn Timber Company (Mr H. G. C'oupe'), candidly setting out the posi tion of the company and the harmony that existed between employer and employee : “As you are aware, the timber 'iiVdusitry im'lhudng' -a very lean . time., | 'The Taudo : Totara• Timber'• Company is 1 orily working l one ‘of'its two Mokai uinills> liC Spßd of . this* pnr+ailmenti of; output-r-Sv^- -added’ - 499,010- 1 feet i (actual isuper-. 'Measurbiheht) to bur stocks over the, ’thPee months'e-nded March. 31 -last.; Wei ' ’-nb’w- find 'it lAebdssary To'fhrtherl reduce. ; 'ektihg,"and ! we propose,- subject ip your ! approval, 1 tef tiffitk five . days noli eight hdh'rs pin-' we'eltl the burking time to hb hKt'wken' 7.30 him. niifl 4.30 rm. from! Monday tb' Friday l inclusive:’ The alternative. ‘ wOuld he 'a’ i-.fouf-dan u'eek of the ordinary eight and a half hour days.”

In revdv. Mr Phelan wrote: “T am in receipt of your (favour notifying that, owin'/ to the state of the industry. it will be necessary to curtail working hours, We quite anpreemte thb- grave difficulties', you are.. labouring 'under 1 ‘bwing ■to the-' cbntinimd-.depres-sion,l We 1 ' rdalrse that something must he d one" a-P d s l >el i eve ."that the/working hoyrs - : buhmitted' f bv -.lyou: '-will; render Teris hardship to all comiernei,.-Gn behalf 'of the union I tender your firm out sincere thanks' 1 for-' the?.-consider-ation you have at all times given to these-'you employv ' ‘We ' hope - that soon -Take-m turimfor the. ■'belter »>-'«v>'>c-.A • ■' v (h y ;

Wr Wh'cl-n “+boi nositioir'hs 'stnL'.. ed’bv : Mr Coupe whs common- through-: out the district, and advice h>d been ’"'ceivcd ear’v in the month that a Mnmaku mill had been forced to discharge 13 men, and work n four-dav week. Flis union Imd urged the Government to prohibit imoortations o foreign timber, which was the bugbear to the inrbu-try to-di'v. ACUTENESS OF UNF:UT>T,OVM Ti, v ,r “Every mill in the district is either closed or working short tim°.” he fur-ther-explained. “Uheffiployment AirV mill workers’ h"s beCn moih acute during the past "12 months than' it hbeen for two or tlp-ep veers. Not'-only are we concerned with the unemplov ment problem, but' 'another' factor he considered is the loss entailed thropgli' mill. • machinery lying idle.”' Mr Phelan said he was aware tliat large stocks of foreign timbers had recently arrived in Auckland and were now stored on .the ' Auckland wharves. That, however, was ’ going 'on continually. ’ Just what the importation's meant to New Zealand could be gauged, from the fact that every 100 ft of Umber imported meant, the loss of a day’s work to a timber worker in New Zealand.