AS A PROTEST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 281, 28 November 1938, Page 8

AS A PROTEST.

RULING OF COURT. WESTFIEI.I) HOLD-UP. PLIGHT OF 3000 LAMBS. KILLING OPERATIONS CEASE The ruu jor activities of the \Ve«-t field freezing works weir brought to a stand Mill I o da\ ii a the result of ii (locii-inii made liv M)(t employee* to stop work ;is h. protest. it i* «tated. again*t (tic A rhit r« I ion Coiirt'i* i 111«» tat ion of a cliinee in their award relating to the number of nil'll to lie engaged on kill Work started umiiiil iit eight o'clock tlii* nniininir. but the workers' c \ rent i\ i» met ll 1111 decided to en 11 il <• rnl meeting for Hi o'clock. "I"ti<• result of thi» meeting win tlmt nil the member* of the Kroe/ing Workers' I'nioii lit Wi-tflcUl agreed to leave their jobs until tomorrow morninir itt least. ll> di«per«ed and went to tlu-ir home* ulioiit i I I o'clock. By no men DM nil of the HIH) workerswho include several women nml girls— lire directly concerned with the clause of the award which i* in dispute. It relate* only to slaugh terors engaged on the killing rings, numbering lilnlcr 1 •"»<>. Init the other member* of the union are | slated to line stopped work in nytiil'ii thy. Since the W outfield works are the only one* in New Zealand whore the rin? system in in u»e Instead of the chain system, other freezing works, are not alTected. No plan*, it is understood. for nn attempt at negotiation* before tomorrow have yet boon finalised. Grave Effects Possible. In the meantime, with only the office staff, Attorn, carpenters and men engaged in other trade* still busy, the killing operation* at Westfleld arc paralysed. It in stated that the stop|iiigo could hardly have como at a worse time, for the killing season is now well tinder way. Perhaps the most serious aspect of the position is the fact th«t 3(1(10 lamb* •re waiting to lie killed. 'I'hey have jtint. been separated from their mother*, and If the stoppage last* for only a few days their plight will be most serious. They on mint, be returned to the ewes, and they are too young to lie fed on grass. Another effect of the wtoppage is that the slaughter of cattle has been cut short. Prime beef for tho chilled export trade was being killed for immediate loading at Auckland. "Overloading of Chain." The trouble arises from the fact that although the award states (as I'rom Octobor 1 last) that not more than .15 workers shall be employed on any chain, there is no specific provision limiting the number to be enjpiged on the ring, which I* actually a variation of the chain. When the award claims wei> before tho Court, the union ankod for this provision: "The number of men comprising the team on each chain or ting shall be mutually agreed upon between the team and the employer." The secretary of the union. Air. VV. K. Sill, who is at present ill, stated I lion that the union's complaint wan that the employer had unduly restricted the earning power of the chain *lnlightermen by overloading the chain with surplus labour when not required elsewhere. "Not Definite Enough." Tile men are firm In their contention I lint the clause restricting the maximum number of chain workers to ;i.~» must apply to the Westfleld installation. I hoy say that tho mechanical chain is Hie dominating feature of the ring system just as It is of the chain and except for the layout of the* plant there is no difference' between the system at Westfleld and tho straight chain systems in operation at other works. The Westfleld freezing Company, they state, has always recognised this by complying with certain other clauses iii the award in which reference is made to the term "chain." When they appealed to tho Arbitration Court for an interpretation they wanted one that would finally settle the problem. They feel that the conclusion reached by the Court's delegate, Mr. J. A. Gilmour, S.M.. to the effect that the award is defective ill that it lacks provision for some limitation of the number of slaughterers on the Westfleld system, is not deflnit< enough.