DEADLOCK

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 66, 19 March 1942, Page 8

DEADLOCK

FREEZING WORKERS

TRADES HALL MEETING

There was no clarification of the ■position in the Auckland freezing ini. i li \ early tills afternoon. The stad hoi mthiv employed at the Westfield freezing Company's Works was still holding out fur general te-engage-11 • • 111 ' I ||h ' management adhered hx oiigui.ii announcement that "'il.v a pi opoi Hon of the ordinarv ' ould lie immediately ri'employed, dislocation of the various department ; making re-engagement <'ii mas-e impracticable. The meet in'.; of woi k'-rs affected bv the strike continued till late into the forenoon, when it adjourned to 'he Ir,n !• . I[a 11. d! us.-iotis bci ng i e.-11111 ci| at 2 pin. Owing to a general impVeftsjon in 'he mini of the public that, the strike ua -i practically settled yesterday afternoon, and that there Would bo an almost, entire resumption of normal objurations at. X o'clock this timrning. snanv farmers and o'hers Willing to offer their .services refrained from reporting for work this morning. The management ol' the W'estlield Freezing Company Is advertising todav for firmer-; and others willing to assist in the disposal of stock already on tiie premises. It. was emphasised bv the management this afternoon that ihe call for volunteers 1o carry on essential work is in no wav diminished by the events of the la.u 2 1 hours. Trickle of Volunteer* There was a trickle of volunteers coming into the West field works throughout the forenoon, but the management Is expecting an increased Inflow of willing workers when Ihe actual position becomes widely known. It. was stressed by the management of the Westfield Freezing Company that, dislocation of the works, bv reason of the sudden cessation early In the Week, made It a practical Impossibility to nut the whole of the usual staff back Into place this morning. A survey of the position had been made and lists had been prepared, setting out the names of those who could he re-employed at. once. Partial re-employment, had proved wholly unacceptable to the workers who had gone on and. in consequence, none of the usual employees was re-engaged. I'onltlon at, He Ma by'* At norm, conditions remained normnl at the three works of the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company, including Southdown. Although there had been considerable dislocation of business, the fact that large quantities of stock were available for Immediate slaughter enabled all the staff to bo re-engaged. Beyond the girls at the canneries, none of the normal staff waa working at Hellaby's, The position Is that when the men assembled this morning thev were Informed that owing to the 'act. that there were no stock available for killing, that there had been a general dislocation, and that other volunteer labour had been engaged in the meantime, only a limited number ofjformer emplovees could b« re-'engaged Immediately. The men held a* meeting and later walked off the job. Although the management was unable to state the reason for the decision officially, it was teamed, later that, the attitude of ihe men was that unless all were engaged none \rould accept I employment.