WITHOUT WARNING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 June 1941, Page 5

WITHOUT WARNING

BUTCHERS AT WESTFIELD KNOCK OFF IM ORDER TO GO TO RACES. CONNECTED DEPARTMENTS HELD UP. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 4. Because Westfield freezing works butchers and boners decided during the lunch-hour today to go to the races at Ellerslie, no killing was done in the afternoon and workers in associated departments had no work to do, according to a statement by the company. “You'd never think there was a war,” an official said. A delegate from the mutton butchers told the superintendent just before 1 o'clock in the afternoon that the men had made up their minds to go to the races, it was stated. Soon afterward a delegate from the beef butchers followed suit, followed by one from the boners. This meant that about 150 men voluntarily left their work and that of all other departments connected with theirs was’ thrown out of gear. “We were left with cattle on our hands,” the officials said. “Pieceworkers were left with nothing to do, and labourers automatically could do noi thing. There had been no previous inkling that any action was contemplated by the butchers. They simply told us their decision a I'ew minutes before they were due to resume killing after lunch.”