The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5. 1913. THE SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIIKE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 220, 5 February 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5. 1913. THE SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIIKE.

-I-l ,f ' W ailii strike. which ended so disastrously for those engaged in it, was begun in Hie most optimistic spirit, as most strikes generally are. lint it simply resulted in tlie. infliction of severe less upon hoth the employers and the employees, iln- general dislocation of trade, and tin- striking of a severe blow at that industrial legislation whieh was : framed mainly for the protection of organised labor. The strike was admittedly a foolish one. and all along it was hard to find any justification for a party ol men "downing tools." even though they were Ihoroughly -alis'icd with their wages and their working conditions, upon the 1110-1 llinisy of pretexts. The strike and its diplurahie results are now matters of history, but that history is uselnl as pointing a moral and adorning a tale. There is even less justitication lor the existing strike of slaughtermen Ihroughoiil the Dominion. If the figures ouoted bv I lie companies are correct—and the men have not so far challenged them- most, of the bnfeher- are earning wages that put to shame lii. salaries of many 1 men. \Ye have only to (piote our local freezim; works at Waitara as a case in pnini. According to a statement publicly made

by Mr>sr.-. )!ui'lh\vick Bros.. tin: mutton men working ut Waitara, where their homes arc established, last season, working for 26 consecutive weeks, averaged per week £5 8s each, or roughly £l4O for half a year's work. These men demand a 20 per cent, increase, and have been offered a 10 per cent, increase. The beef men earned last season for 2S consecutive weeks £8 5s (id each per week, or roughly £230 each for slightly over half a year's work. These men demand a 25 per cent, increase, or that they shall earn about £270 for half a year's work. Incidentally, they also demand to be paid 5s each for hulls export dressed A competent man can reasonably put through 10 in a, dity. and'his earnings for that day would be £4 for seven to eight hours' work. In addition to this the men demand certain other privileges with regard to overtime and hours of work which are calculated to further embarrass the companies. The figures are significant, ft is admitted, of course, that the work is difficult and singularly unpleasant, and that the figures do not represent a year's working wages in proportion to the period worked. But the rate of pay is high in recognition of the character of the work, and the men can surely add to the money earned during the season by casual labor during the four or five months when the works are, comparatively speaking, necessarily idle. As Mark Twain would say, "It's their own picnic," but unfortunately it is other people's "picnic" too. The stoppage of slaughtering stops the first wheel of the whole machinery of the frozen meat industry, and 15 per cent, of the men employed in it are thus enabled to paralyse the whole of this important industrial fabric. We believe that quite a number of tlie slaughtermen are strongly opposed to the strike, and are ; simply sacrilieing their beliefs to loyalty ! to the unions to which they belong. Outside their own ranks the men have simply no sympathy from their fellowworkers in the trade, who cannot understand why the liberal advance offered by the companies has not been accepted ami the whole miserable fiasco ended. I It is obvious that the companies, who have already offered a generous compromise. will not stir further, and will either shut down the works or continue them with free and inexpert labor, plenty of which appears to be offering. But neither of these courses will help either the producer or the market, and the Old World, knowing little and caring less for our internal dissensions, will not "stand for" any temporary dislocation of the frozen meat trade. Such a dislocation might easily throw the trade back for years. In this respect the men, i while injuring a large body of their fellow-employees, are simply cutting off their noses for the deliberate purpose of spiting their faces. They have not shown any earthly reason why their extravagant demands should be granted, and we can only hope that they will reconsider the position and accept the very reasonable offer made by the companies. It is all very well to seek the bubble reputation at the cannon's mouth, but . the cannon has a nasty habit of going off at unexpected moments. The men are embarking upon an absolutely hopeless enterprise, and their action can only result in misery and discomfort to others and a disorganisation of one of our most important industries that may have far-reachinj effects. Fair play is bonnie play, but on the other hand unfair play is distinctly ugly. The attitude of the strikers is emphatically ugly, and we shall not be surprised if their fellow workers conclude to inform them of this in no uncertain terms.