SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

NZ Truth, Issue 140, 22 February 1908, Page 5

SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

TROUBLE AT PAREORA. The Butchers and Their Sinoko. Dirty Dodges of the Daily Dirge.

According to the reports appearing m the daily press the general public would be led to believe that the trouble with the butchers at the Pareora meat Works,, m South Canterbury, was a silly- sort of a strike, and the whole of the. blame should be charged up to the butchers, or slaughtermen, or whatever they call themselves. Tlie .. Timaru "Post" thus fcumjs up the situation :— "The strike among the slaughtermen at the Pareora Freezing Works has ended. The men wei'e given tin-til last evening td say Whether or not they intended to resume work this mornlhg, and when the., time came for their answer, they stated their willingness to i- resume work m the usual way to-^day . This they did, unconditionally. The man who was discharged for smoking on the board yesterday has not been taken ,on again. There is a room specially provided at the; Works lor the men to smoke m, but from what can be gathered, it seems that nearly all the butchers Were smoking .yesttttday while at work. This beins contrary to regulations, the lirst man who^A'as seen to be $mpking. in the killing "'room, was discharged, an;l the utters spmewiiat hastily to strikpi by way ot protest. " • ,- •■■■'■■ Now the delegate of the Pareora slaußlitenmen gives a very , s different version and his. version has every appearance of being the truth. He says : Last Wednesday morning the .foreman butcher informed mie that smoking olv the 'board 'was to be stopped, as he had orders from, headquarters '(Christchuroh) to 'that ■ effect and' the first one he caught . > smoking he 'Was to dismiss at a moment's ■ notice. Well, on Thursday m<ornin<K we knock-/ ed off as usual for our "sriioko" : at (9.30 a.m., and,, of course, we all lighted up pipes, cigarettes, etc., When along came the foreman arid nassed six or seven smoking without saying a wond to them and went Up to about the middle of, the board and

SACKED ONE OP OUR MATES; and, of course, we took exception to one of our members being dismissed, as we were all entitled to haye 1 the same deal, and we therefore called a meeting on the spot and deckled not to wpr.k again till we got advice on the matter, as there is a rule m our log ' to say 10 minutes "smoko" morning and afternoon, and no stated place where we must smoke,- and as this is the first season smoking on the board has been prohibited m this shed (Pareora) we thought to "•et the best advice procurable. Wte appointed three of our mehrbers „to p?o to' Timaru for that purpose, with 'th'e result that ' our trouble was, open, for argument before: any court, but as the Freezing Co. would have the Insurance Co. to call upon for evidence our solid toi thought we ha<l better fall m with the views of the Co. and have our "smdko" outside m a room downstairs, which, m the first place, was built for a dressing room and dining room, but since the trouble the > manager here wants to say it is a smoking room/ Well, of course, we can't say "No" to that, but to walk downstairs to this room means that some or us have to walk fully 100 yds, and being heated as we ■are doing this work we are liable to get a ohiil, if nothing worse. In this 10 minutes' "smoko" we have also to sharpen our knives and carry clean water to our Hooks, so you can see how. much "smbko" we get. ThiS'i shed, and Fairfield, to my knowledge, are the only . sheds m Australasia •where smoking is prohibited, and we don't see Why we should be made exceptions. In the "Timaru Herald" it is stated that the ' butchei that got the. sack is still off duty. Well, it is just the opposite, tas he started work ' agaih with us ' on Friday morning, arid We decided if he was not .taken on again none of us would have started with the exception of one by name A. Fletcher. WHO WOULD NOT STICK WITH US, . „- ; but kept 'On working all the day we stopped. Now, as regards this strike, as it is /cenorted m the Timaru rags, our solicitor told our representative, n who ■, interviewed him , •it was no strike ' at all seeing we stopped' for -the purpose of getting advice on Rule No 1. .Now, you can see for yourself- there is no stated place for us to 'smoke. The agree-: ment with the Co. (Rule; 14) says the employers shall have the fullest right (subject to special provisions, of this agreement) of their factories, and may make such rules for the necessary and proper -management thereof as they may deem expedient. This is the rule which duir solicitor thinks the .Co. .may. beat ,us ! on, as they have more standing with the insure ance companies than, we have. .i ':■■ It will' be- noticed that the "Post?" says that nearly all the men were smoking while at work. This would give the public the impression that the men wanted to smoke all the j time and whenever they pleased . Nothing could be more contrary to fact. The men only wanted to' smoke daring the arranged time for "smoko "> but what they wanted was to smoke at • the board; the most convenient ! place; After taking advice the, , men agreed'; to shioke m the room- -<• set ; lapart and resumed their work without demur. Then why all this daily press fuss about a strike ? Merely . a ruse to mislead public opinion and put the worker m the worst light possible. The tricks of capital are beneath contempt, and the rights of labor very, very hard to uphold under present social conditions, and always will be while the press is under the thumb of Fat.