ALL QUIET.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 246, 17 October 1932, Page 5

ALL QUIET.

WESTFIELD AND SOUTHDOWN.

CROWD OUTSIDE GATES.

The general , atmosphere ft t Westfield and Southdown this morning was reminiscent of that of a Sunday. At the Weetfield Freezing Company's works a crowd of well over a hundred men arrived at 8 o'clock, and there was a gathering outside the main gates. Some of the men entered the premises to pick up personal belongings, but no attempt was made to start work. The majority of the men hung about the entrance for an hour, the stoppage of work being the chief topic of conversation. Although the men were paid on Friday they still have wages for half a week due to them, as their working week ends on Wednesday. At 9 o'clock this morning the crowd at the gates were informed that the wages for work done on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning would be paid at 4 o'clock this afternoon. When this announcement had been made the crowd broke tip, the men wandering back to their homes.

Inside the works all was quiet. The permanent staff men were going about their ordinary business, and there were also a few girls and boye in the canneries, but the usual signs of activity were missing. "We knew for some time that there would be a fight," said one of the officials at the works. The men, he said, apparently wanted to get a settlement before the lambing season started next month. He thought an agreement would be reached before the employers wanted to handle the; new season's lambs. The official gave the opinion that it was the younger men, who had never known anything but high wages, who were the more strongly opposed to the new conditions. At the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company's works at Southdown a few men turned up at 8 o'clock, but returned to their homes half an hour later. This morning the refrigerating plant was going, the engineers not being affected by the dispute, and the foreman completed a little manure drying that had been held over since Saturday. Apart from this the works were idle. The small locomotive which is used for hauling trucks about the works was in the engine shed, and the engine driver could be seen taking advantage of the slack period to clean up his charge. One of the permanent staff said that about .eighty of the company's hande were affected by the holdup. He gave the opinion that the majority of that number did not want to strike.