WORK STOPPAGE
TAWA FLAT LINE
TUNNEL WORK HELD UP
CONTRACTORS EXPLAIN
Statements made yesterday by Mr. A. Cook, secretary of the Railway Construction Workers' Union, as to' the causes leading up to the stoppage of work on the tunnel in connection with the Tawa Flat deviation, are replied to by the contractors, Messrs. Burnside and Matthews.
Mr. Burnside said that in regard to Mr. Cook s statement that when he met the contractors on "Wednesday afternoon after the stop-work meeting he did everything possible to prevent trouble he (Mr. Burnside) was merely informed that the men had decided to stop work until a conference had been held. His reply to this was that he would not deviate from the. previous arrangement to hold a conference on Sunday. Regarding the discharge of the president and secretary of the union, these were among the six men discharged on Monday after a warning seven days before that such a course would be taken if better progress was not made m their work. . It is also pointed out by the contractors that the statement that all the men are competent tunnellers'is a bit wide of the mark, only seven out of all those employed on the job having had previous experience in such work. Many of those dismissed had been paid off because of insobriety However, some of these had been reinstated.
The contractors regard the words "All underground workers shall be paid not less than £1 5s per shift," appearing under the heading of "wages" in a proposed agreement stated to have been forwarded by the New Zealand Workers' Union, as " a demand for 255." The contractors also reply to Mr. Cook's statement about the check inspector. They say that he put his clothes too close to the fire when drying them, and they were burned. He wished the contractors to pay for new clothes and also pay wages during a day off to purchase new ones. On being refused this he attempted to enter the tunnel, stating that he wished to speak to the men about the matter, but was refused admittance. The contractors deny that the check inspector was asked by the men to go into the tunnel to view a wet P wu' c.then left of his own accord. The position this morning seemed unchanged, all work on the tunnel bein<r at a standstill. °
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19271216.2.102
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1927, Page 11
Word Count
394WORK STOPPAGE Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 145, 16 December 1927, Page 11
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