Knives Sheathed

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 207, 21 January 1913, Page 5

Knives Sheathed

SLAUGHTERING WORK STOPPED. "OUT FOR BLOOD." ! THE CASE FOR THE MEN. % i'elegrapn— Press Association. c <r\ i i Wellington, Last Night, wv. 1 4.i° r UootJ t!lis time." In these 3V if 00 ' 6 ' 11 -' of the Ne w ZeaT T?i ai , lg \ ? ,en .' s Federation (Mr. M. nn=*r ° n i Bummed up the position so far as the men are concerned m the dispute which entered upon its most serious phase this afternoon. He indicated clearly that the meii are determined to fight to the very last to secure that which they consider they are justified in claiming. Knives were sheathed and work was stopped at the Petone and Ngaliauranoa works m the afternoon. The Gear Company s slaughtermen cut out at abauc I o clock, when each man had averaged about sixty sheep for the day. At N"ahauranga the supply of sheep was greater, and the last was not killed until just on four o'clock, when the men had an average of about eighty each. Now there is not a live hoof on the premises, with the exception of the decoy sheep.' There was no demonstration of any sort when the men knocked off work. Tney simply pa.ssed a few Oioerv remarks to one another as the end came, then gathered up their tools, and all they possessed, and walked away. Thus did the strike—if legally it is a strike at all— begin. The Wellington Union lias not yet sent any reply to the company's ultimatum, and so far as can be ascertained does not intend to do so. The men will let their action of to-day stand as indicating their position and determination. THE CONCILIATION COMMISSION- ■ ERS. tj^! lo *- l on<, '' , " a tion Commissioner, Mr. Hally, who has just returned from official visits to Waiiganui and Napier, states tliat he intends to remain in Wellington m order to help in t!ie settlement of the ti? Is lnore than likely, he said, that before the end of the'week I will make a move in the direction of bringing the parties together." THE SECRETARY INTERVIEWED. This evening Mr. Reardon was asked by a pressman to make a statement, on the position from the men's point of view. "Three-tenths of a penny per head is all the difference between' the comI pany's ofler and what the men are prepared to accept," he said. "On the total export of frozen sheep for the twelve months ending October 31st last this would represent £OBIO 13s (id. In other words, this is the total'sum required to settle the dispute throughout the Dominion at the present tinie. At a' recent sale in Pahiatua it was reported that sheep dropped Is Gd per head, because of • the threatened slaughtermen's strike. 'lt would in the aggregate, taking the same export figures as before for a basis of calculation, mean a loss to the farmers of the Dominion of £-100.012. I cannot believe that the farmers are going to sacrifice that great sum for rather less than £7OOO, which is all that is needed to secure an end to the trouble. I am convinced that in; this dispute the interests of the small farmers, who unfortunately are ,not shareholders in the meat companies, are not being studied. I am of opinion that if the meat trade of the Dominion were controlled by the farming interests instead of by the commercial interests there would be no dispute at the present time." How is that? the reporter asked? A QUASI-POLITICAL FIGHT.

The fight, I believe, is a quasi-political one." said Mr. Reardon. "It is not a fight over a mere question of wages, but a lust for victory. Events over which the slaughtermen have had 110 control, and, indeed, have little sympathy for. have occurred in recent months, and have brought the employers tocrether. strengthened and more determined than, they have hitherto been. It would seem that the desire is not for a settlement, but for war. My opinion has been emphasised by the attitude of the employers during - both of the conferences we have had" At our first conference in July, although we were met at the invitation of the employers, and although tliey knew we were asking for an nv crease, they simply sat down and said: 'We decline to consider anything unless you will, agree to the old conditions.' The conference lasted probably one hour, during which we were doing all we could to get the employers to discuss the situation as if they meant business. At the second conference, last month, when we entered the room the chairman briefly announced that tliey were prepared to oive 27s fid, MEN'S PROPOSALS NOT DISCUSSED._ But the employers object to j so ™® °* your proposed conditions, don't they. asked the reporter. , . "They were never even discussed, Jlr. Reunion replied. "At our first conference we laid our conditions 011 the tabic and retired from the room. When we returned in an hour the conditions were face downwards on the table, and we were assured that they were not even looked at. At the second conference the employers said that the existing conditions must remain. No clause was examined and no papers were looked at. I feel that there, will be a disposition to fioht anybody and everybody, and our anxiety is to confine the. struggle to those immediately concerned. We have asked for assistance from none, and we desire none outside to come to our assistance until we do ask. If any effort is made to spread the trouble to other industries it will bo without the consent or approval of the slaughtermen. ' GONE BACK ON A CONTRACT. "These men have gone back 011 the compact they entered into three } e;us ago when, under a new agreement, they got a substantial rise in the killing rate." This remark was made to a representative of the New Zealand Times yesterday by one in a position to know how matters stand. He declared that the meat companies only agreed to the advance in rates in consideration of ! what, appeared to be a good prospect of five years' peace. When the agree- ■ ment was drawn up, he said, both par- ' ties were willing to give it a trial of 1 five years, but it was found that under ' the Arbitration Act no agreement could " be registered for a longer term than - three years, so the agreement was given 1 the shorter term."

THE WAKES EARNED. Hasting;, Monday. In reference to the statement made by C. Were, secretary of the Canterbury Slaughtermen's Union, regarding the earnings of slaughtermen at tlie Canterbury Freezing Works, a Tribune reporter was informed this morning that some butchers at the Tomoana Works earned £2OO last season for eight months, and very few less than £l6O.

COMPANIES' OFFER REFUSED. Christclmrch, Monday. A meeting of slaughtermen on Saturday night informally considered the offer of the companies, and rejected it. The secretary says he has the consent of the union to sign the. agreement on a basis of 30s for twenty years. The men will insist on the wages and preference to learners the clause demands.

THJi CHRISTCHL'RCII ABATTOIRS. •• : • < . ■ ..i Cliristchurch, Last Night. It seems unlikely,, in tlie event of a strike by the slaughtermen in Canterbury, that the Cliristchurch Municipal Abattoirs will he 'affected. Councillor C. D. Morris, chairman of the Abattoirs Committee of the City Council, in reply to a reporter's question on the subject, said: "We are working under a very satisfactory award, and 1 have not heard a whisper of any discontent. The slaughtermen at the abattoirs, I suppose, have the best award of any slaughtermen in New Zealand. Tlioy all seem satisfied, and I do not anticipate any trouble. There is not the slightest hint or suggestion of discontent, and the men say they are satisfied with the award at present in operation. That award does j not expire till September, 1014."