BREAD SUPPLY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 148, 26 June 1939, Page 9

BREAD SUPPLY.

DRIVERS' AWARD.

STOP-WORK MEETING.

CALLED FOR WEDNESDAY.

DIX EMM A FOR BAKERS

SwiotiA inconvenience i« likely to be caused to a number of Auckland employers as an outcome of a decision by member* of the Auckland I>rivers' Union to hold a special stop-work meeting at eight nVlock on Wednesday morning at the Auckland Town Hall. The meeting is expected to be very largely attended, as the union has 2500 member* within a l.i-mile radius of the Auckland Chief Post Otlice, and approximately a total of 37<>0 members in the province.

The decision to hold the meeting will affect all general carriers ami forwarding agents, bread carters and drivers of a variety of businesses, including fruit and produce merchants, laundries and aerated water manufacturer*. Local body and passenger and omnibus drivers are not affected.

Auckland bakers have perhaps been the most seriously affected through the decision of the drivers, and the master bakers have been faced with a dilemma There was an attendance of about 450 members of the union at a mectin«- at the Trades Hall yesterday morning? inelating members from various parts of the province, when there was discussion on the position which has arisen in coneenuence of failure to reach agreement In disputes with certain emplovers and the stop-work meeting was consequently arranged.

Nature of the Dispute. The secretary of the union, Mr. L G Matthews, said to-day that one or two important disputes were with employers whose businesses were governed by the storemon and packers' award, and the wool, grain and h!de stores employe**' award. Both awards provided for a 40hour Aveek, and according to a clause in the general drivers' award, drivers employed by the Arms mainly governed by thoee two awards, should also work the game number of hours ivff ?, ° f ? rulin « b y the f '°urt of Arbitration last November, the employers had failed to comply. Proceed ings had been taken by the Department of Labour to secure enforcement of the order and the matter had been referred to the Court. About 200 men were d,BWtte ««* wltt

A second dispute, he added, concerned men engaged on road construction work, "here it waa alleged that employer* were refusing to operate a forty-hour week , n spite of a ruling from the industrial magistrate, Mr. J. A. fiilmour. Mr. Matthew* added that notice to •inW the stop-work meeting had been forwarded to the Minister of La hour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, and the national Mr™*? °/ll th K Dr t ,VCr "' *«•«■««". •Mr. r. t. .Allerby. Any communication from the Minister would be placed before the stop-work meeting. He (Mr Matthews) had been in .communication by telephone with Mr. Allerby. The InKer had said that the matter would affect the whole of the Dominion, and had added that he was" having a tremendous amount of trouble in endeavouring to get employers concerned to observe the forty-hour week.

Xfforta Per Amicable Settlement. Mr. Matthews claimed that the union ind exploited every constitutional channel for the purpose of getting an ami•alile settlement, but without success, ind it seemed to he quite cleat that no natter what decision was given, there appeared to I> P intention to procrastinate '«> evade the terms and condition* of | he award. When the award was mads Sy the Court strong, exception was taken to certain clauses by the drivers throughout, New Zealand, and at the request of the Government, following a "inference with the employers, the drivers decided to abide by the award 1 , notwithstanding the fact that the conference with the employers had proved • failure.

The attitude taken up by the em- ' yers on that occasion was one of complete compliance with the award as ssuod by the Court, and nothing more. I hd union has now found that In actual lactlee there was. in instances, an endunvowr to outwit the workers. Recently the union had had occasion to confer with certain employers with reference to their alleged non-compliance with the country work clause in the general liners' award for the purpose of ob"inting the necessity of paying country allowance provided in the award.

Bread! For Wednesday. Housewives will have to arrange on Tuesday for Wednesday's bread supply. rhe meeting may last all Wednesday norning, and as Wednesday is fairly senerally observed as the bread carters' ••If-holiday, the question arises as to hen that day's bread is going to be ■li'livered.

When thfn question was put to the V tick hind Maater Bakers' Association to■'.v. Mr. S, S. Green, secretary, stated it. In order to meet the contingency "• Auckland bakers would be baking '•'lnpsday'a bread to-morrow. and msewivea would have to take bread "••gli for two days. -< association had received no commention of any sort from the drivers' "ii. so that lie could give no further "inuition tluin was appearing in the ! '"s. It appeared that bread could t be delivered on Wednesday, and the "location would be considerable. Bread,

• added, could not be baked in five linirtes. The industry called for a .:'»<>d deal of preparation. Bread for Vednemday would have to be baked on Tuesday night. That was going to '•a use both inconvenience and expense. The inconvenience would arise through the necessity for altering a normal routine . In " bakehouses. while the expense would arise through the inevitable payment of overtime to cope with the double quantity of bread requiring to be baked.