MANNING THE BOARDS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 51, 1 March 1913, Page 9

MANNING THE BOARDS

POSITION IN HAWKES BAY. (BY TEtfeOftAPH—PRBSS ASSOCIATION.) HASTINGS, 28th February. "The local slaughtermen will follow the course taken by the strikers in Canterbury and return to work," was the opinion expressed by one of the strikers. Nothing definite has been decided yet. The line of action to be pursued cannot be fixed until the men hold a meeting. Many of thej strikers have left the district and some trouble would be experienced in getting .them together, but even should the slaughtermen agree to resume work, it is possible that a good many will be unable to obtain hooks. At Tomoaha, for instance, there is a full board of thirtyfive butchers. The number of sheep put through by them for one day has been as high as 2500, and the men are daily becoming more efficient with the knife. Consequently, in view of the statement made at the beginning of the strike, that the firm would protect the men who came to their assistance as free labourers, it is unlikely that the strikers will be able to go- back if they wish to. Thirty-five men went out on strike at Tomoana, and ten have since returned to work. A few of the others are still about town, marking time. Some have taken up various occupations, and several have left for other "parts of the Dominion. At the Pakipaki works there are twenty free labourers on the board, and they put through between 900 and 1000 sheep daily. When the ex-slaughtermen sheathed their knives there were twenty-eight killing. The firm, in the event of the strikers deciding to abandon the strike, do not intend taking them back at the expense of the men who are at present manning the boards and who came to their assistance when the strike commenced. The services of the free labourers will be retained, and should there be any hooks to spare, the strikers will be allowed to resume work on the terms and conditions offered by the companies. | Five more free labourers are expected j at Pakipaki, and there will then be a ' total of twenty-five, leaving only three hooks unfilled. A representative of the North British Company stated that the company would have nothing whatever to do with the ! ex-slaughtermen, even if they decided j to abandon the strike. More than suffi- I cient free labour was offering to occupy the boards, and the tally was better than before the strike. The company was satisfied with tho work that was at present being done.