AUCKLAND DISPUTE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 January 1941, Page 9

AUCKLAND DISPUTE

I WORK AT COLD STORES I — NEW MEN ENGAGED. QUESTION OF UNION MEMBERSHIP. ißy Telegraph—Press Association.! AUCKLAND. January 5. ! For the first Sunday since the dispute began in the middle of December, cold stores at the Export Wharf and King’s Wharf were worked today. A call made by the Auckland Farmers’ I Freezing Company. Ltd., for men to I replace approximately 140 chamber- ’ hands who were dismissed on Friday j after refusing Sunday work was ! promptly answered and. in addition to 240 men engaged at the weekend, at least as man.v more offered their services and loft their names should they ‘ be required in future. i “We have all the men we can pos- • sibly use today," said Mr. A. G I Brown, general manager of the comj pany. “The new men are shaping very ■ well indeed. On Saturday they took i into the store produce that had aci cumulated and more that had been received by rail and coastal ship, and today they loaded out produce for over-j seas. Mr. Brown said a very small number! of the men dismissed on Friday hadj offered to work on Saturday and had I been re-engaged. AH the men had] worked well, and, though it had been i expected that some of them on Sat-! urday night might have found the work ! unsuitable, they all reported for work today and others came with them. None of the new men had yet applied for membership of the union. Mr. Brown added, There was a limited period of grace, and they would apply within the prescribed time. A statement that non-members of the Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union who had accepted employment with the company following the dismissal of chamber hands would not be admitted to the union, whether or not they wished to Join, was made by the secretary, Mr. W. E. Sill. He made the statement in reply to a question as to whether the men concerned would be required to join the union. Mr. Sill declined to say whether any meeting of the executive of the union or the union as a whole was contemplated following the dismissal of the chamber j hands. He added that he was unable | to say whether other sections of the i union were affected.