THE SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8370, 1 March 1907, Page 5

THE SLAUGHTERMEN'S STRIKE.

By Telegraph—Press Association

NAPIER, Last Night,

The temporary trouble at the North British Freezing Works was settled by the company agreeing to pay 25s per hundred. Yesterday twelve men waited on the manager and asked for an increase to 25s per hundred, their action being in sympathy with the movement in other parts of, the colony. After consultation the manager promised an increase of the rates, and the men turned to this morning. DUNEDIN, Last Night. There are no fresh developments in connection with the strike. The Burnside hands are waiting advice from the North before deciding whether they will resume work. INVERCARGILL, Last Night. The slaughtermen out on strike held a conference this morning, and waited on the managing director of the Southland Frozen Meat Company, but no definite airangements were arrived at. It is probable that they will again confer with the manager this afternoon. WELLINGTON, Last Night. The Arbitration Court gave its decision., this afternoon, in the case against the butchers at Petone and Ngahauranga, who left their work i*ecently. The Court held "that it is clear that the industrial agreement referred to in sub-section 3 of section | 15 must be an agreement which is valid and effectual under the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Acts, and the question we have to determine is wheher the agreement' of August Ist, 1904, is such a valid and effectual agreement. This agreement purports to be made, 'this Ist day of August, 1904, between the Wellington Slaughtermen's Union of Workers of one part and the Gear Meat Preserv- [ ing and Freezing Company of New Zealand, Ltd., and the Wellington Meat Export Company, Ltd., of the other part.' It appears from the evidence that this agreement was executed by the Union first, and in pur t suance of a resolution made on June 17th, 1904, and confirmed on July 11th, 1904, at a special meeting called for the purpose. Mr Cooper, the Secretary of the Union, was positive that it was executed before July 28th, 1904, the date on which, according to the attestation clause, it was executed by the Wellington Meat Export Company, and Mr Cooper thought that it was executed on some day after the 11th of July. 1 According to the attestation clause it was executed by the Gear Meat Company on July 30th, 1904. Now, it is clear that the agreement in the present cases does not comply with the requirements of sub-sec,tion 3 of section 24, in that the date of making thereof is not truly stated therein. The date of making thereof was the date on which it was executed by the Union, viz., some day between the llt'h and 28 th of July, 1904, whereas in the agreement the date on which it is stated to have been made is the Ist day of August. To ascertain whether an agreement has been filed in time or not it is essential that the date should be truly stated in the agreement so that tha parties who are interested may know at once, from an examination of i agreement as filed, whether it has been filed within the prescribed i time. Filing within the prescribed I time is clearly essential to validity of agreement, and the scheme of the Act seems to be to give parties thirty days from the date when an agreement is first executed bv any : party to get it completely executed and filed. The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act makes an agreement, perfected in accordance with the requirements of the Act, binding on the parties thereto, and also on all individual members Of unions and associations bound by it, and confers on parties the right of having the provisions of the agreement enforced in the same way as an award of the Court and any breach thereof punished by fine. This gives to an industrial agreement force and efficiency not possessed by any contract at common law, and before an agreement can acquire this force and efficiency it must comply with the requirements of the Act. This the agreement of August Ist, 1904, has not done, and we hold therefore • that it was not an industrial agreement within the meaning of the Act. The result is that the applications in all cases must be dismissed."