THIRD DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 200, 24 August 1937, Page 8

THIRD DAY.

ORAKEI DISPUTE. OTHERS INVOLVED. ALL WORK MAY CEASE. STATEMENT BY COMPANY. After three days of discussions and negotiations no Settlement Las been reached in the dispute over wagew. on the Orakei State housing job. It is now feared that the carpenters' strike will involve all the workers employed on the contract by the Fletcher Construction Company and its sub-contrec-tors with the exception of apprentices. watchmen and a few hands who will be retained to attend to the timber-drying kilns at the Penrose joinery factory. A number of bricklayers and bricklayers' labourers resumed work this morning, but there is only sufficient work to keep them going for two days. Pvxjof tilers are still at work, but as there, .are only two roofs to bo completed they will be stood down in two days' time if the etrikei eoniinuerf. "If a settlement is not reached speedily nobody will be working on the job after the end of the present week," said Mr. W. Fletcher, head of the Fletcher Construction Co., <this morning. "You ask me to state the position," he continued. "It was a week yesterday since Mr. Kennerley, tne secretary of the Carpenters' Union, telephoned me with a request that the carpenters' wages should be increased. I pointed out to ibim that his beet method of procedure wae to place hie request before the executive of- tie Master '.Builders' Association. • r heard no.tb.ing more about the demands -until Mr. 'Kennerley telephoned me last -Thursday -Bight \.and informed me that there ■ had been a meeting of delegates-wnd-that-*bere'Ayas to be a ptop-work- meetiirg ■ next morning to demand a -wage of .2/8 an hour for the carpenters: Failing a favourable reply, her said-,• they "would stop-work.

No Separate Issue. "I again asked him why he had not referred- the • que6tion- -to- the Master Builders' Association and pointed out thai .the .company would not deal with the .matter, as a separate issue for the Orakei job; as it Iras , something that affected every in the Auckland province. He made no reply to this, statement. . f •■• "On Friday > morning' the carpenters eeased work, and have' been out ever since. An attempt at a settlement was made yesterday through the fforte of Mr: W., .J-. Lyon, M;P.. ~We appreciated his effort .to.get.the men back on the job, but unfortunately he did not meet with success.. "We have told our men at the Penrose factory that we will be unable, to keep them on after.Friday next if there is no settlement. We .cannot go on -*n«aking joinery, as, the job is not in a position •to take the manufactured product. -"This will mean approximately another GO men being out of work." Auckland v. Wellington. * Mr. Fletcher said the men wer« citing the wages-paid to the carpenters on the Wellington State housing job and at the same time asking for a halfpenny Rn hour more. It appeared to be a try on, Wellington being played up agains't Auckland. ■ Each job,- however, was separate. "This morning the \ national secretary of the Carpenters and Joiners* Union, Mr. J. Moulton, who arrived in Auckland by aeroplane,-approached me with a view to a settlement being effected," he continued. "I told' him that any arrangements must foe made through the Master Builders' Association." Referring to the men directly and indirectly concerned in the strike, Mr. Fletcher explained, that there were 275 all tokl on the Orakei job employed by Ins firniv -The number of houses tomlt was 208. and 110 were in course of erection.. Had the strike not taken place it was expected that 31 houses ■would be completed in a month's time from last.Friday. All the timber was coming from 13 mills in the Auckland Province and orders would have to be cancelled if- the'strike were prolonged. That .would iny-blvep workers outside Auckland, andvriiofe men would be placed on the" unemployment register. At the Penrose joinery factory and mill 90 men were engaged, for plastering, roof tiling, plumbing and other work employed 92 iiien. With the 275 men:employed by. the- company the numiber of workers involved totalled 457. First in 26 Years. Mr. Fletcher said that it would not be possible to retain men on the job longer- than a few. days while the carpenters were out because it was not expedient for one portion of the work to pet too far ahead of other portions. If that happened men would hsr?* to be etood down while the other sections caught up. It was the first carpenters' strike he could remember during the 26 years he had been in the building business in New Zealand. "We are governed by an Arbitration Court award," he said. "The conditions of work are plainly laid down, under it and we. as contractors for the houses, have abided" by*.'the , terms of the award throughout'. It was explained <by Mr. Fletcher, that although' the men were employed'-Under a five-day 40-hour week they were pairl for 42* hours a week, as half an hour's travelling-time daily .was included in the payment. The company transported the men to work .by snecial buses. Any worker who arranged his own transport received an additional 2/C a week.