HOLD-UP CONTINUES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 November 1938, Page 6

HOLD-UP CONTINUES

NO WORK AT WESTFIELD CONFERENCES END IN DEADLOCK SERIOUS EFFECT ON EXPORT TRADE. ACUMULATION OF FAT STOCK. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, November 29. Conferences between representatives of the men and management of the Westfield freezing works today failed to bring about a settlement of the men’s grievances and no work was done in the slaughtering or other departments during the day by the usual staff. Hopes that an adjustment would be reached were nullified by the deadlock that ensued in the talks between the parties. ■ No official statement was made on behalf of the workers, but one was issued by the management. It stated that no settlement had been reached. It is stated that the issue in dispute concerns only a small percentage of the 850 workers involved in the stoppage. Several of the workers said they would suffer by the. stoppage and any concessions gained would not bring them any compensating benefits or increases in remuneration.

The appearance of numerous motorcars, obviously from distant country places, gave rise to the belief that farmers were arriving to offer their services in slaughtering and other work. No confirmation of this was available, though a considerable number of farmers made calls of inquiry throughout the morning.

During the day staff employees and several of the office staff assisted in killing and dressing fully 100 bobby calves and a number of pigs held over from Monday. That class of stock could not be held over indefinitely. Fat lambs were not handled, and are being fed at the works. Staff hands also carried out the loading of chilled beef from cool stores for shipment by the Port Townsville, now taking cargo at Auckland in preparation for departure on Saturday. The serious effects of the hold up of slaughtering were admitted by the management, though it declined to comment on suggestions that an early endeavour would require to be made to handle large numbers of fat lamb being held on farms. The capacity of the wmrks plant is fully 9000 lambs daily, and the peak of the killing season is almost at hand.

One of the visiting farmers said that lambs, unlike other classes of stock hand to be handled at specific times, otherwise the weight and bloom of the carcase would not be of the quality an,d grade desirable for the Home market. Even a few days’ delay would substantially affect the selling value of the carcase. It was officially stated today that the Federation of Labour was not concerning itself with the dispute and that no outside parties had taken part in the developments. POINTS IN DISPUTE STATEMENT BY MANAGEMENT. AUCKLAND, November 29. A statement on the conferences between the management of the Westfield freezing works and the men’s representatives was issued tonight by the management as follows: — The management met representatives of the Freezing Workers’ Union at the works this morning, but were not able to come to any settlement. Discussion centred upon the “ring” system of killing, and certain suggestions about distribution of operations were made. Some of these the company agreed to, but after an adjournment at lunch time the delegates returned to the position that the ring must be operated with the same number of men as a “chain,” namely 35, and would continue discussion on no other basis. The company pointed out that the ring is three times the length of a chain, and in other countries is considered from the point of view of convenience to workers and also as mechanically an advance on the chain or any othei' method of handling the large numbers of sheep and lambs which it is necessary to kill at the peak of the season. Specially is it so for the rush of bobby calves, often up to 9000 or more a day in the calving period. The union has called out every worker in the factory, approximately 733 men and 134 boys and girls, though there are only 70 men involved in the operation of the ring. The company offered to facilitate the setting up of a disputes committee or reference of the matter to the Court of Arbitration. SEPARATE UNION , REPORTED INTENTIONS OF LABOURERS SICK AND TIRED OF BUTCHERS’ GRIEVANCES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. AUCKLAND. November 29. Claiming that they are tired of losing pay from disputes in which they have little interest and from which they stand to gain nothing, many labourers at the Westfield Freezing Works favour breaking away from the Freezing Workers’ Union and forming a separate union, according to a statement tonight by a delegte of one of the departments at the works. Meetings had already been held at which this action was supported, he said. Under the present system labourers were being frequently called upon to stop work in sympathy with butchers, who were on much higher rates of pay. Yet the labourers were gaining nothing. A large proportion of those who voted at the meeting on Monday did so out of a sense of loyalty and did not know what they were voting about. “We are absolutely sick and tired of the petty grievances that the ‘chain’ has caused, and we want to break away from it,” the delegate said. “Four or five men are at the bottom of all the trouble at Westfield, and we are convinced that with a union of our own we could carry on much more smoothly.”

After the meeting on Monday, the men in the department he represents held a meeting at which a proposal to break away was favoured, he added. A further meeting was held at the works today and was attended by labourers from several other departments. Nearly 100 were present. The scheme was further supported and many of those present said the other workers in their departments were of the same mind. The idea was to form a separate labourers’ union such as had

existed in pre-war days. A meeting of labourers would be held at the works tomorrow, when the proposal would be further discussed.