PRICE OF BEER ON WEST COAST

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25303, 1 October 1947, Page 6

PRICE OF BEER ON WEST COAST

INCREASE FROM TO-DAY From Our Own Reporter

GREYMOUTH, September 30. Licensed victuallers from all parts of the West Coast, at a special meeting at Greymouth this afternoon, reaffirmed unanimously their previous decision to increase the price of beer to 7d a glass as from October 1. The meeting was attended by nearly 50 hotelkeepers. There has been a considerable amount of opposition to the proposal to raise the price of beer, and at a special meeting of the West Coast Trades and Labour Council last evening,. representatives of thousands of workers on the West Coast expressed their unanimous determination to boycott all hotels which to-morrow in-

crease the price of beer from 6d to 7d. A spokesman of the West Coast Trades Council said the unionists were prepared to “fight a real campaign” to resist the hotelkeepers’ demands for an extra penny. The Trades Council says its decision is based on a record on profits being made by breweries, and on the large sums paid for goodwills in the sale of West Coast hotels, whifch indicate that an increase in the price of beer is unwarranted. It was considered that if the statement was true that some hotelkeepers were finding difficulty in making ends meet, tfie line of action should be to force breweries to disgorge some of the exorbitant profits they were making, rather than penalise consumers, said Mr T. Pratt, secretary of the Trades Council, in a statement to-day. “We do not propose to be exploited. We consider that both the quality and quantity of the beer, as compared with that of 1940, represent a price increase to the worker ofniore thar. 100 per cent., while ip that time the profits of the trade have increased.”

Mr Pratt added that the introduction of 12oz glasses would make no difference to the decision of the workers, and the boycott would proceed. ,“We are of the opinion that in a very short time, under some pretext or another, 12oz glasses would be withdrawn, and the charge of 7d would remain. If hotelkeepers accept our challenge we are quite confident of the outcome,” he added.

Workers everywhere, he said, had indicated they were not prepared to accede to the demand to pay an extra Id. “If they decide to fight us, we will fight a real campaign. We will not be content to remain on the defensive and sit back, having made this decision to boycott hotels, but we will take the initiative,” he said.

Unionists, at their meeting last night, also discussed the* advantages of selling beer by the imperial measure, as was done in Australia. It was considered that the time for this reform was long overdue. Under this system the consumer receives the amount he pays for.’ So far, it has not been stated whether the size of glasses will be increased from lOoz to 12oz. The retail price of spirits, as from to-morrow, will be lOd.