FREEZING WORKERS’ DISPUTE

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1922, Page 5

FREEZING WORKERS’ DISPUTE

POSITION IN SOUTH CANTERBURY. COMPANIES MARKING TIME. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Timaru, Lost Night. The position remains unchanged at 4he local freezing works. The butchers are not working, but the other departments are carrying out their promise to clear everything up. A gentleman with authority to speak on the freezing industry, stated to a reporter to-day that trouble has been foreshadowed since the posting of the notice, at the end of May. concerning wages reduction. In regard to the stoppage by the butchers,, he would like to state that the Canterbury executive of the Freezing Works Union had been endeavoring to keep the men at work, but under protest, so as to allow constitutional proceedings to be taken in the Arbitration Court. However, since the secretary of the Dominion executive had come down and addressed meetings at the works, the slaughtermen in each instance had subsequently ceased operations. Another point was that the butchers in South Canterbury practically unanimously wanted to carry on, but as many of these men follow the season throughout the Dominion and Australia, they were afraid to do so in defiance of the call. If they worked here against the federation’s decision they would be marked men on other boards after the trouble is over. He would like to say, in contrast to the decision to go out on the five shillings reduction, that about two months ago the butchers themselves decided to reduce their killing capacity to ninety head per day per man. As a fair majority of the butchers were capable of killing one hundred and ten to one hundred and twenty per day, by reducing the tally to ninety they were losing on their own account six shillings per day, or about £2 per week. At the present time in South Canterbury there are about seventy thousand head of fat stock to still come forward to complete the season. What the future had in store he would not say. but the companies were now simI ply marking time. At one of the works i there were 200 head of stock on the trucks to come forward to-day, but these were countermanded at the loading stations. When the butchers ceased work seven hundred head were on hand, and these have been returned to the owners. FREE LABOR FOR WORKS. DECISION IN SOUTHLAND. Invercargill, Last Night. The Southland Frozen Meat Company has decided to re-open the Makarewa works next Thursday with free labor. It is understood the proprietors of the Ocean Beach works contemplate similar action.