COOL STORES IDLE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 December 1941, Page 3

COOL STORES IDLE

MEN FAIL TO REPORT NO WORK AT AUCKLAND YESTERDAY. OBJECTION TO DISCRIMINATION. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Decebeinr 26. No dairy produce was handled at the King’s Wharf cool stores today as none of the 150 chamberhands usually employed there reported for work. The abstention of the men was in accordance with their decision on Wednesday to refuse to work on Christmas Day and Boxing Day as a protest against the terms of the order issued by the Minister of Labour, Mr Webb, concerning payment for work on those days. Under the order the men would have received double time for working instead of the treble time provided under the freezing industry award, which was one of those suspended by regulation. . The attitude of the men was explained in a statement made by one of their representatives. It was not conect, he said, that the men refused to work unless they were paid treble time for two holidays. “What we object to is the discrimination shown in the Minister’s order,” he added'. “Cool store hands were fully prepared to work if necessary through the holidays at ordinary rates of pay,” he continued, “but we did object to working at reduced rates, when the waterside workers were privileged to receive' full special holiday pay.” “Waterside workers were exempt from the Minister’s order, and would have received 7s an hour plus 5 per cent for handling-produce which we were expected to unload at reduced wages considerably less than that. If there had been an equal cut all round there would have been no protest by the chamberhands, and work would have proceeded as required,” said the representative. The distinction shown in the order was resented by the men, and it was a matter for the Minister to explain why one group of workers were asked to work at reduced rates when another which simply passed on the produce delivered from the stores enjoyed special rates of pay. If the order had called for everyone to work at ordinary rates of pay the chamberhands would have readily complied with it.