THE FLAXMILLERS' DISPUTE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3742, 17 January 1907, Page 3

THE FLAXMILLERS' DISPUTE.

The Conciliation Bc/ard sat in Palmerston yesterday morning to consider the demands off the Manawatu Flaxmill Employees’ Industrial Union of Workers^ The presiding members of the Board were :--Messrs P. J. O’Regan (chairman), H. Innes and F. Bedford (employers’ representatives), and A. Collins and A. H. Cooper (Labour; representatives). Mr W. Pryor appeared on behalf of the employers and Messrs Simpson, Cumerford and Castle on behalf of the Union. The principal demands are as follows: The hours of labour hot to exceed 46 weekly. All statutory and public holidays to be allowed without stoppage of pay, but should employees have to work on those holidays, except Christmas Day, Good Friday and Sundays, rate and a half to be paid and double rates on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Sundays. No piecework to be allowed in any branch except cooking, flaxcutting, firewood - cutting, tramming, paddocking and scutching. The cutting rate to be decided by' mutual agreement, but if a.despute arise, the matter to be decided by a committee consisting of one person elected by the cutters, one by the employer, and a third selected by those two representatives. All flax to be weighed at the tram' head. The rate for contract paddocking to be as follows From Ist April to 31st September -(inclusive), 30s per ton; from xst October to 31st March (inclusive), 25s per ton ; 5s per ton extra when carting has to be done. The minimum rate for scutching to be 30 per ton. The time rates to be as follows:: Stripper-keepers, feeding. 15s; ditto when engine driving, £s'y ditto when feeding and managing, ss; washer, finding boots and aprons, 10s pec day ; feeders us per day ; benehloader, 9s per day; sorters,’ 8s 6d per day ;• catchers, 9s per day; shakers, 8s per day; paddockers, 8s per day; head paddockers, £2 14s per week; rouse- ( abouts, £2 5s per week ; draymen from £2 7s to - £3 per week ; all hands employed daily in the swamp, 10s per day; all manual labourers not otherwise specified, 8s per day; cooks from 32s 6d per week, and 3s 3d per per week for each man in addition to ten men ; all cooking, dining and storerooms to be detached from the sleeping quarters. There were about sixty employers cited and a number o± them were in attendance. ,

After the list of employers cited had beeft called over, the President said the result of the dispute would either be an agreement or an award covering the whole industrial district from Waver ley on the West Coast and Wairoa on the East Coast to Wellington. Th»; “usual procedure adopted, though the BoarJ liacl power to call Mid hear evidence, etc,, was to go into .conference from which the press was excluded. That procedure he proposed to adopt on the present occasion. \Of course all the 'employers present could be present, but it would be for the labour representatives to say if more than three of the. employer s' representatives should take part in the discussion. The Board itself took no part in the proceedings. though the chairman would preside. Mr Simpson, on behalf of the Union, objected to more than three of the employers’ representatives taking an active part. The chairratan explained that while everybody interested could stay during the conference it was better, so as to expidite matters, for only a small number to discuss the , questions before the Board. '

Mr PryoL on behalf of the employers, expressed himself - satisfied with the chairman’s explanation, and said that for the present sitting Messrs Seifert and Greig, with himself would represent the employers. The Board then -went into conference.—Standard.