Strike At Orakei.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20277, 20 August 1937, Page 8

Strike At Orakei.

CARPENTERS DOWN TOOLS DEMAND HIGHER WAGES. BRUSH WITH W. J. LYON, M.I "EMBARRASSING GOVERNMENT.” AUCKLAND, Friday. Claiming 2s 8d an hour as compared with 2s 6!d, the award rate, over 180 carpenters and carpenters’ labourers employed on the erection of State houses at Orakei decided after a stopwork meeting this morning not to resume work until Monday and not to resume In any case unless the employers, the Fletcher Construction Company, granted the increase. Subsequently Mr J. G. Kennerle secretary of the Carpenters’ Unio: said it was not a union strike bi purely a job strike, but naturally tl union would do all possible in the ii terests of tlie men. An official of the employing fir said when the question was raise earlier in the week the compar suggested that it lie referred to tl Builders’ Association since it. affectc all builders and was not a question L any individual company. Had th been done the whole problem con have been discussed while work pr< ceeded. The stop-work meeting las

ed about an hour. g Protest by Labour M.P. a Mr W. J. Lyon, M.P., who was presJ ent by request, representing the Minister of Labour, protested against being called on after the men bad decided to cease work and accused the men of attempting to secure a privilege for one job at the expense of unionists on other jobs. They were thus embarrassing the Government. When the men later passed a vote of confidence in the Government Mr Lyon expressed the opinion that it was merely a gesture. Mr Kennerley said the had met earlier and asked the Fletcher Construction Company to give them an answer to their demand for increased pay but a representative of the company was not prepared to give them an answer this morning so after the stopwork meeting they walked off the job. t At the stop-work meeting it was al- » legcd that in Wellington the Fletcher » Construction Company was paying one . penny an hour more than the Dominion . award rates. Workman’s Threat. After IVtr Lyon had accused the men of violating trades union principles one of the workmen threatened: “Ram Lyon’s words down his throat.” Mr Lyon retorted that he could do so If physically capable. The member Intimated to the men that he had the courage to stand up to anything that was coming to him. Inquiries made among carpenters elicited tlie fact that ‘2s GDI is the minimum award rale but some contractors are paying as mmcli as 2s l>d an hour. A further cause of complaint is the length of time the Arbitration Court hearing has been delayed and the men are incensed that a change of venue to Auckland cannot be obtained. In the new claims the men are asking for £G a week, maintaining that builders can put their business on the same footing as other trades and make the work continuous.