A MEW MOVE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 21, 25 January 1913, Page 7

A MEW MOVE

IN THE MEAT EXPORT TROUBLE WAINGAWA NEGOTIATING WITH THr MEN PROBABLY 30s PER 100 FROM THURSDAY NEXT. PRECIPITATING A CRISIS. Both parties to-'the dispute \n th 6 mea* • export trade, since the men broke away, from the boar/Is, have emphasised the necessity of, fa nd have insisted on, their solidarity of purpose. In reply to the. men's demands for 30s per 100, and etceteras, ' o he companies, after a couple of confere-Aoets, said 27b 6d and no wore. bmce .yesterday there have been de« velopm^ts of a nature that seem to make y Je situation much more involved. 1 here is ©very prospect of the Wellington Farmers' Meat Cpmpahy breaking away from the companies and beginning woric at the new rates and under new corriitaons next Thursday, 30th January - «a day before the notice to cease work e&pires. The effect of such on some of the other companies can only be conjee- , tured. It may bo said that the bigger < companies were not altogether taken oy surprise. , MJ£N'S DEMANDS MET. This much can be said '. are novr proceeding between the SlauyV termen's Union and the Welling «£• Farnjßrs' Meat Company, Waing^CT Messrs. J, Bishop and M. J. Rf £al are i-epresenting the men. So far £:™n be ascertained at present, an n-^^ZJI will be -completed this alternrjj eB K ITS U he T/ la[om oi the ' -s^wSt so tar apa as follow ;«— tJ2» h ? Ul ' S ™ wofk t0 fee be. S n J'J ° clo f and 5 p.m. on five Sat-jMays work shall cease not later f« ,ir * Otm ' , and P rovi sion is made «? i "iinutes' "smoke." Rates for f,^ cp t 2 nd ! ambs > or shee P and l^mbs '.tot otherwise specified, shall be 30s £er hundred ; double-fleece sheep, 37s Gd j rams And stags, other than ram lambs, 6d each j dead sheep or lambs, is per head, no sheep or lambs to be Ssed u WIUI lon B Bliank8 ' a »d no aaggy sheep or lambs to be killed. ihe rates for cattle are to be :- Bullocks and cows, 2s 6d per head : bulls, 2s 6d; all bulls to be chopped and eoft^ided, otherwise double rates to be pa-id. Calves, up to 100 lbs, Is 6d per head,- over lOOlbs and up to 2001bs, 2s ; over 200 lb S) at beef rates. Double rates-are, to be paid for all "'Kosher" stuff. AH dead cattle done at the works to be paid for at the rate of 7s 6d each. Rates for killing pigs are £* f/lf /l™ 8 : r Up to lOOlbs, Is; up to ZOOlbs, Is 6d 5 over 200, at a rate of Is t'Jr every lOOlbs or fraction thereof. Provision is madfr for 15 mihutes' 'smoko ' at as nearly as possible 9.45 m the forenoon, and 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Overtime : Overtime shall be paid for at the rate of time and a-lmlf. and not mere than one hour overtime per day to be worked. No overtime to be worked on Saturßays unless o, public holiday occurs during the week, when overtime may be worked at the rate of time and a-quarter. "Waitingtime" is also to be paid for. It is agreed that slaughtermen shall wait fifteen minutes in the event of a "cut-out," but if required to wait longer they shall be paid at the rate of 3s per hour for all such time. DUTIES OP THE KILLERS. ' Mutton butchers' duties are set out ah follow :— Kill, take out tongues, take off shanks, and skin (including wool piece on head), sever wool pieces, take insides out, take out sweetbread, wipe, and "hang off." Slaughtermen shall be allowed to cut wool piece up or down as they please. Beef but* ckers are to stun or pith the animal, bleed, and take head off, hoist, ground, take hide off, Bkin, and take tail off, take ineide out, strip ca-nl, wipe and clean, divide into sides, saw rump, and saw from second joint on loin to fourth rib from neck. Cattle to be pithed to be put in pens by employers. IMPORTANT LEARNERS' CLAUSE. Learners are to be dealt with a« follow in the new agreement x*~ Each learner shall be provided with a, hook. Learners shall be employed in attch proportion [p slaughtermen that there shall not be more, than one learners to each ten slaughterman or fraction of ten. Slaughtermen's labourers shall be given preference «js learners. Learners capable of killing and dressing eight Bheep or lambs per hour for freezing purpose* to the satisfaction of the foreman butcher shall be classed as competent slaughtermen, and shall be transferred from the labourers' class. It in provided that not more than one Bet of learners shall be allowed to work in any one ohed in any one season. Leafnere shall be paid for slaughtering done by them, and at not less than the rates specified in this agreement. Bach learner must bo & member of a union affiliated with the New Zealand Slaughtermen's Federation. The federation shall not fine or in any way, penalise any member thereof for becoming a. learner under the provisions of this agreement, or for teaching any, such learner in accordance with the said provisions. No beef butchers shall be allowed to employ labourers. \ HOLIDAYS FIXED. Holidays are agreed upon as follow s 1 Recognised holidays to be New Year's Day, Christmas, Day, Boxing Day, King's Birthday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Labour Day. Other holidays to be arranged to meet local requirements. All work done on any oth^r holidays or on Sundays shall be paid for a> double rates. \ PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS. Preference of employment Bhall bb given to members of any union aflilated with the New Zealand Slaughtermen's Federation, on the ordinary union conditions. Any member who is appointed as a foreman or any other position of trust Bhall cease to becoina a member of the union. GENERAL. Under the heading of general, it is provided that not more than on© slaughterman shall be engaged on each hook in each shed. Not more than two men are to work in one pen. In, the event of a man meeting with an accident, which is likely to keep him ' out for over a month, the employe).* shall have the right to temporarily fill the vacancy. Wages shall be paid weekly, two days "lie-time" to be allowed. Drinking water shall be provided on the board, and boiling water to be supplied for making hob drinks. | Employers shall provide also a medicine chest and bandages on the \vori« (or the board) for slaughtermen. Provision is made also for gnnd-Btonps for the exclusive use of tht» "killers." 1 With regard to the covering of sheep " pens, that is going to be done, as is also the provision of bathing and dressing accommodation for the men. It i 8 expected that the agreement will come -into iotc&^ Thursday mat, .30tl*j

January ; that no hitch occurs 4n the meantime, , BREAKAWAY NOT UNEXPECTED "' If, as is regarded as practically aasm> '«d, the men are granted the killing rate iasked for, the situation will be rendered snmch more complicated. Such action *as is anticipated was not wholly unexpected, in vjew of certain happenings at 1 the conference last Friday week in Wellington, when, it has since been stated, i s, country delegate moved that the 30s Jper httndre.d, demand be, conceded, and * the motion, -'af4r a warm exchange of {©pinion, was easily defeated. I "AN EXTRAORDINARY THING" * An 1 authority, when approached for * An explanation .by a - representative , of * The Post to-day, would say no more J than' this : "Waingawa has apparently * tnade the men an offer of 30s, and in * ,-view of the fact that all the other comI.^anies are absolutely ( firm on the rate I now offered, and conditions, it Beems an f «xtraordinary thing that the company lltas gone out on its own." i The works at Waingawa are wbrked &on the co-operative principle. When the i informant above quoted was questioned J as to the possibility of several other ,co« >'• operative companies breaking away, he t referred the questioner to his opinion - j; given in the preceding paragraph. J • POSSIBLE EVENTUALITIES. * But it can hardly ,be doubted that, I should the Slaughtermen's Federation % succeed in the instance under review, \ they will not make a determined effort * further to undermine 'the solidarity of * the companies by diplomatic pressure on fc those other co-operative sheds, No . der^finite information on this head 1 is ob-J-taantfble as yet, but such a plan of £< campaign is fairly apparent. * Representatives of the local companies, ». ,whetr seen to-day, were wholly disini. dined to discuss the" possible' eventualif ties, but> signs are not wanting that the % • situation, from their point or view, is t 'Serious enough. Work does not cease in imost sheds until the expiry of the notice 31st January (next Friday). Meanwhile the local works h#ve been idle.sonle days, while such as Waingawa have been .working at* top for sonic time. In the event of the co.mpaniess manning the boards with "free labour", it is possible that the waterside workers >may have something to say against handling the carcases. In this connection certain vigorous comments by a delegate at the Labour, Conference the other- day with reference to non-union mutton and nonunion labour, are to .be .noted. 1 It is probable that parties interested in to-day's, conference at Masterton will have something to make public when the .result is announced. ■ (N FAVOUR OF ARBITRATION , Sir George Clifford has written to the , secretary of the Canterbury. Sheep- ■ owners' Union as 'follow :— 1 "In reply, to. your^of 21st inst. I can assure' you that .the 'freezings companies of New Zealand gladly unite in, acceding tojyour recommendation to solve lall differences with their slaughtermen by reference to arbitrators of trusted independence, whether mutually appointed or otherwise. I^may recall to you that the companies have always been ready to adjust these differences by the legal methods provided by statute or by ahy other fair system of ■ arbitration. I would point out, however, that an agreement to, arbitrate, must, contain provision' for the , enforcement 'of the consequent award for a definite period. I cordially concur with you in the expression of your desire that the companies, if reasonable proposals are continuously rejected, should co-operate with the members of the Slaughtermen's Union who Uphold the principle of arbitration, by which a safeguard is provided against ' .deplorable disturbances of a> business in the permanent stability of which producers and. workmen are alike, so deeply. - interested. I confidently believe that a •clear secse on the pait of the majority Of slaughtermen of their own best interests and those of their fellow-workers will render unnecessary your thoughtful offer of manual assistance, which, however, id gratefully acknowledged as a testimony of ' your recognition of r the moderate and liberal attitude of the freezing companies."