POSITION IN CANTERBURY.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14583, 6 February 1913, Page 8

POSITION IN CANTERBURY.

The opposing forces in tho slaughtermen's trouble in Canterbury are still marking time, and the position remains about the samo as it was two or three days ago.

The possibility of the freezing companies being successful in obtaining sufficient expert free labour to man the boards is the subject of a considerable amount of comment. In labour circles it is considered that if the works open with free labour the troubles of the companies will be intensified rather than reduced, as it will probably mean that free labour will have to be got also to ship the carcases. The Slaughtermen's Union is affiliated to the Trades and Labour Council, and though the recently formulated unity proposals for the amalgamation of the Trades and Labour Councils with the Sew Zealand Federation of Labour has not been yet formally adopted, it is considered that the amalgamation, though' only tentative, is real enough to ensure the united action of the two bodies into which organised labour is at present divided. The resolution arrived at by the Unity Conference, expressing tho sympathy of the delegates with the .slaughtermen, is considered another indication that in the event of the present trouble becoming acute, common action will be taken by the bodies represented at tho conference to support the slaughtermen.