DRIVERS' STAND.

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

DRIVERS' STAND.

| " DECISIVE MOVE." i ACTION IS DEMANDED. I I j MEETING HELD YESTERDAY. LABOUR FEDERATION ACTS. It" a decisive move lias not been made within seven days in connection with tin? removal of anomalies allegedly existing in the drivers' award, recently J issued by the Second Arbitration Court, i a further »|>ecial meeting will be callc<l I by the Auckland Drivers' Union to coni sider the matter. This was the essence of a resolution j passed yesterday at a sjxx ial meeting i of the union held in the Trades Hall, ! flobson Street, and attended by about I <;.">» members. Also present. were I prominent members of the trades uniim i movement and officials of the Auckland Trade* Council of the Federation of Laliour. The meeting was for the purpose of receiving a report of the recent conference between the union and the employers in Wellington in respect of certain matters incorporated in the award. Report of Conference. A complete and comprehensive report was submitted to tlie meeting by Mr. L. Matthews, secretary of the union, who attended the conference. His report stated, said Mr. Matthews tlii* morning, that the. conference had extended over the whole of last Thursday, and that at j p.m. the employers said they would consider the union's representations that evening and report their decision the following morning. On the Friday at 10.30 a.m. Mr. H. Knight, representing the employers, said full consideration had been given to the matters, and the decision was that the terms of the award as presented by the Arbitration Court could not be departed from, and that, further, any attempt to alter its provisions would involve the violation of the principle of the arbitration sygtem. Appeal to Federation. The workers' representatives met J again in the afternoon to consider the ; employers' reply and decided that, as | the Federation of Lnbotir was sitting in Wellington at the time, an endeavour should be made to place the drivers' representations before that body. I Their case was presented to the federation later in the afternoon, the dri\ers' contentions being fully explained bv Air. A. I'arlane, national president, and Mr. F. .4 Her by, national secretary, of the Drivers' Federation. Replying to the union representatives. Air. A. Mr-Lagan, president of the Xew Zealand Federation of Labour, assured them that their claims would receive the immediate attention of the federation. "The position was fully explained to the special meeting held in Auckland yesterday," said Mr. Matthews, ''and the general feeling of the members was that 1 this further avenue should be exploited to its utmost before resorting to direct action. Workers Determined. "The workers in this calling throughout Xew Zealand are perfectly satisfied they have a just case." lie went on, "and I they are determined that these anomalies I imposed upon them by the Arbitration | Court will be investigated with a view jto their removal. They are also determined to exploit every conceivable channel before resorting to a strike." The position was, he added, that the matter had been referred to the Federation of Labour, and the meeting held 1 yesterday expressed its full confidence in that body, sincerely hoping that it would be f>ossible through the federation's assistance to bring about a favourable settlement of the dispute. I "However, it was decided by the meeting yesterday that in the event of a decisive move not being made within seven days a further special meeting would be called to consider the position," lie concluded. i