WOOLLEN MILL DISPUTE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2732, 29 March 1916, Page 6

WOOLLEN MILL DISPUTE

DEPUTATION THAT WAS NOT,

The workers in connection with tha Wellington Woollen Mill strike a« Petone were to have • interviewed the Prime Minister (Right Hon. W. F. Massey) at noon yesterday, a' fixture! having been made for that hour. When the time. arrived, the only people whtf put in an appearance were Mr. J. W. M.'Ewan, Mayor of Petone, and one of the mill hands. They waited until 12.40 p.m., but as no other representatives ofthe union had put in an appearance byj that time, there was no,deputation. There was no other movement towards a settlement of the dispute during tha day. . • ■'■'-■

It was stated yesterday that several of the men had secured work elsewhere, and that .when the mill did start there; ' was a prospect of there bein« a difhV culty of securing a full staff right away. In reference to this matter Mr* M'Ewan stated last evening that ha had not made any. arrangements for tha deputation. . He had been invited by. tho president of the Woollen Union to attend a-deputation, to thd Prime Minister, along with Councillor Forsyth, but he had nothing to . do with the arranging. He understood that Mr. T. M. Wilford, M.P., was to be there, besides representatives of various trades unions.

The president of the union interviewed could throw no light on the matter, and said_ that there had evidently been some'misunderstanding. -Speaking $t the' Woollen Workers 1 ' concert at Petone • last evening, the member for the. district, Mr. T* 1L Wilford, said that in Chinese laundries, hoot factories, and in every factory except woollen factories, women worked 45 hours per week. For some reason, they were expected to work three hours! more in woollen mills. Mr. Wilford expressed the opinion that in war timer woollen mills .were munition factories, and it was the duty of the Government to obtain State control of all munition factories, so that war profits could not he made. Mr. Wilford advised the workers to raise the strongest deputa* tion possible to wait on the Prime Minister . and urge that every woollen mill' in the country should be taken over.