SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 534, 18 January 1913, Page 3

SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

WORK TO BE DONE BY FARMERS. AN IMPOSSIBLE SCHEME. It has been suggested, more particularly in the North Island, that in the event of th 9 slaughtermen's strike, the sheep, owners and their sons might come to the rescue, and, by manning a board, maintain a supply for the freezing ships, and assist to break the strike. This proposition has been mentioned in Christchurch, but it has not been taken up enthusiastically by sheep owners, for a variety of reasons. The evidence of a worker was taken informally the other day by a reporter. "The idea is nonsensical," he said. "First of all, because of thn harvesting. The farmers must get m their.crops and hay, and alrnady they are complaining of a scarcity of labour. Then, again, the farmers could not do* the work. Slaughtering is a skilled occupation to begin with, and it is carried out under very disagreeable conditions. A good slaughterman can kill one hundred sheep a day, but if you bring a 'cooky's' son, he would probably kill ten a day. and then they would not be fit for export. Fifty butchers at Islington are turning out six thousand carcases a day. Sixty 'cockey's' sons would run out about six hundred." He went on to emphasise the need for expertness in trimming the carcase, and not disfiguring it in the process. He remarked that "legging" alone cook some time to master, and a good legger could not make a high average per day. Many a first-class butcher, used to abattoirs work, came out to New Zealand from the Old Country, and could not get a job dressing sheep, aq the degree of skill demanded was too high. One worker recalled the fact that in 1907 some farmers had taken tu the board, but bad made such a bad hand at the work that carcases of their killing were not sold for two or three years.

! The point was pursued among representatives of the other side, and the idea of the farmer undertaking the work was not favoured on practical grounds, apart from complication that might arise among other unions. It was pointed out that a very high standard had to be attained in the finish of meat intended for the London market, as the Argentine meat was handled in a very good condition, and firms at Home were insistent that the standard must be kept up. It was remarked that contractors who under • took- to supply so many carcases monthly to London homes would be in a very awkward fix if a strike was declared, and if the worst came to the worst they might be able to man the boards, but the proposition was not regarded seriously, especially at this stage of the harvest. The Canterbury Sheep Owners' Union discussed the matter privately at a meeting, but no decision was come to. It is understood that a further meeting will be held shortly.