Mill Idle After Dismissal

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32127, 24 October 1969, Page 1

Mill Idle After Dismissal

Staff of Millers Worsted Mill, Ltd, at Aranui, went on strike yesterday after the dismissal of the secretary of their branch of the Canterbury Woollen Workers’ Union (Mr S. Stott). Mr Stott has been branch secretary for more than three years and is a member of the union’s management committee.

The president of the union (Mr J. Dickson) said last evening that Mr Stott had been dismissed for legitimate union activities, and the matter was viewed most seriously by the union and by Mr Stott’s fellowworkers.

The mill manager (Mr T. Holmes) said he was not prepared to discuss the matter. Mr Dickson, who is employed by another company, said that on Wednesday the mill staff held a stop-work meeting—attended by 93 of the 108 union members—and decided unanimously to ban all overtime until they were given a margin of 7.5 per cent above the award to bring their pay into line with that of workers in other mills. After the meeting, said Mr Dickson, workers on the twilight shift called Mr Stott in to convene another stop-work meeting and decided to reduce their duties to those existing before the recession. Previously each employee had worked one spinning frame, but the company had then required each employee to work one and a half frames and had paid another 50c a day for a 50 per cent increase in output. The extra work, and the poor return for it, had been a grievance ever since, said Mr Dickson, and it was an additional reason for the ban

on overtime. However, although Mr Stott had convened the meeting he had done so at the request of the workers and had not influenced the decision. Yesterday, Mr Dickson said, the day-shift workers called a similar meeting and came to the same decision. Once again, Mr Stott had neither proposed the action nor influenced the decision. About 2 p.m., however, Mr Stott was called to the office and given an instant dismissal in writing on the ground that he had interfered with the allocation of duties by the management. At the same time, said Mr Dickson, the rest of the staff were addressed by Mr Holmes and told that if they were dissatisfied with the job they could leave. When they learnt that Mr Stott had been dismissed, they all went on strike. Mr Dickson said that the dismissal was based on a false charge, and if it was allowed to stand anyone might go next. He had called a meeting of the workers for 8 a.m. today at the mill, and this would also be attended by representatives of other unions.