BEER BOYCOTT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26630, 28 November 1947, Page 4

BEER BOYCOTT

NEW DEVELOPMENT WATERSIDERS INTERVENE THREAT AGAINST BREWERY P.A. WELLINGTON, Nov. 27. A more serious turn, on a national basis, occurred in the West Coast beer boycott to-day, when the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union, at its meeting in Wellington, decided to ask the New Zealand Transport Workers’ Federation, to which it is affiliated, to take concerted action to prevent the transport of beer supplies from a Dunedin brewery to all parts of the Dominion until those West Coast hotels which are serving beer at sixpence a glass are assured of supplies. The decision was immediately communicated to Mr W. B. Richards, of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Transport Workers’ Federation and vice-president of the New Zealand Federation of Labour. Representations were made to-day to the watersiders’ conference on behalf of the West Coast unionists by a national councillor of the Federation of Labour. The union was told that the decision to apply the beer boycott on the West Coast had always been incidental to a fundamental issue, which was a trade union assault on rising commodity prices generally. It was reported that West Coast hotels which continued to serve beer at '7d a glass were showing a preference for beer from Dunedin, and West Coast publicans had been informed that the Greymouth district was receiving its quota from a particular brewery and the quota coujd not be increased because of a shortage of barrels. The watersiders’ conference decided to support the boycott and also to support a demand that the Dunedin brewery should ensure adequate supplies to West Coast sixpenny hotels. This decision will go to the Transport Workers’ Federation for implementation on a basis of concerted action by railwaymen, drivers, watersiders and other transport employees. Unless the demand for adequate supplies to the West Coast hotels indicated is met, it is proposed that the national workers should declare “black” supplies from the Dunedin brewery to all districts outside the West Coast, said an official announcement. “ Unless the demand is complied with it will be an unfortunate Christmas so far as beer supplies in New Zealand are concerned,”_ said the announcement. “ Our desire is to see that enough beer reaches the West Coast sixpenny hotels from Dunedin. Transport workers undoubtedly should support the West Coast unionists in their fight.” When this message was referred to the secretary of a Dunedin brewery yesterday he said that no official information had reached him and he could not comment.