ON STRIKE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 257, 30 October 1929, Page 8

ON STRIKE.

100 FREEZING WORKERS. NEW AWARD RESENTED. STATEMENT BY MAYOR. "PUBLIC WILL NOT BE SERIOUSLY INCONVENIENCED." The trouble tliat has arisen in the freezing works industry in Auckland through the bringing of the new award into force, with its consequent differentiation of rates for pig and other killing, developed this morning, when over 100 men at Hellabv's Freezing Works and the Municipal Abattoirs, at Westfield, ceased work. The Farmers' Freezing Company's works, operating under rates equal to the old conditions, and the Westfiehl Freezing Works, which kill a few pigs, are not affected.

The new award, which classifies the killing of pigs as unskilled labour, came into force yesterday, and up till this morning everything at the two works affected by the strike worked smoothly. Less than an hour after work was commenced this morning, however, a number of; pigs was presented for slaughtering, and some "unskilled" men were engaged to do the work. The upshot was that 18 butchers, eight gutters and six labourers at Hellabv's works, and 22 butchers and 5S other workers at the abattoirs held a stop-work meeting. The secretary of the Butchers and Slaughtermen's Union (Mr. W. Sill) was present. Conference Suggested, The Mayor (Mr. George Baildon), the chairman of the Abattoirs' committee of the Auckland City Council (Mr. M. J. Bennett), the town clerk (Mr. J. S. Brigliam), and Mr. J. Hellaby visited the works, and it is understood the suggestion was made by Mr. Hellaby that work should be resumed pending a conference on Friday, at which his brother (Mr. F. Hellaby), who is now in Wellington, would be present. The men, according to Mr. Sill, were agreeable to adopt this course, but the proposal was not favoured by the abattoir authorities. After several'hours' discussion the men disbanded, and are still on strike. _ Mr. Hellaby intimated that his firm's works would be kept open despite the handicap that would result from the strike. "We cannot deviate from the award which was brought into force yesterday," he added. "The men worked without bother up till this morning, when they worked for an hour on mutton and beef. They then held a stop-work meeting."- ' "I am sorry to find that the men have acted in the'way they have done," said the Mayor, Mr. George Baildon, to-day after visiting the abattoirs. "I would havfe much preferred that the men had met. the committee before going out on strike. The council must stand by the award that has been given, as they would have done had it been against tliem.

'"Although some inconvenience must naturally ° result from tlie extreme measures t&keri by the men, I consider that as a result of the arrangements which have, been made this morning tlie public will not bfe seriously inconvenienced;

••"As matters stand at present, I regret that':! (lo not feel, justified in discussing the; position with the representatives of the men, but if the men are prepared to rgo back to their work and accept the award, as. in my opinion they should do, I am prepared, with the chairman and the committee, to consider any points in the Court's finding on which the men may desire to represent their views.". •

Case for the Employees. "The abattoirs sacked a certain numbey of slaughtermen, and in their place took on a certain amount of unskilled labour," explained Mr. Sill. "There was no reason why the slaughtermen should not-have been given the option of retaining their jobs under the new rates. '.The employers, however, merely said they would not have the slaughtermen, as they would 'play up' later on. In doing that they assumed more than that to which they were entitled. The men concerned in the dispute do not know where the men brought in to start on the pigs come from. A meeting was held, and Mr. J. Hellabv suggested that further hostilities should be deferred till Friday, when a conference, at which his brother would be present, might be held. We were inclined to favourably adopt that suggestion, and Mr. Hellaby went to negotiate along the lines suggested with the abattoir authorities. He returned with the report that the proposal was not satisfactory, and thaS was the end of the matter so far as the men were concerned."

Mr. Sill said the killing of pigs was not the only matter involved in the dispute. The Court had reduced the mutton rates for long shanks by 3/!), although the. employers had not asked for that. The Court had, therefore, not settled the dispute, but had enacted legislation not asked for. When the employers' application for a new award was made the union had asked for an adjustment of the rates for mutton. The Court had not only refused that, but had 'made a reduction. "Employers' Initiative." . "The men are still out, and are likely to stay out," added Mr. Sill, ''although the employers will be given an opportunity to negotiate with them. The employers nave taken the initiative in the trouble by sacking the slaughtermen." Mr. Sill argued that the rates of pay at the various works in the Auckland district should be on the same basis. At the Southdown works, where hundreds of pigs were killed, the men received 1/5 and 1/11 a head, whereas at the two works affected by the dispute, the amount to be paid was only 3Jd. While comment had been made concerning the high rates of sluaghternlen, it had to be remembered that they earned their money as the result of their energy. Four works at Westfield were doing the same class of work, so surely the same conditions and basis of work should apply to each. Why'should a man who killed a bullock receive different pay to that given to another man only a few hundred yards away? The machinery used at the abattoirs for pigs did not lessen the skill in the trade, for it was in the killing of animals that the skill camo in. It was stated in the Arbitration Court proceedings that a fair reduction for the use of machines was 4d, and the union had no case to answer. It had always been argued by the employers that they must pay by results, but in the present case "that principle had been shelved as the aim was a big reduction in wages by roundabout methods. So far as pige were concerned the requirements of the men would need consideration, but in the case of sheep and lambs, the old rates m were desiied.