THE JOCKEYS' DISPUTE.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4015, 15 June 1920, Page 3

THE JOCKEYS' DISPUTE.

THE REFUSAL TO RECOGNISE - ASSOCIATION. STATEMENT BY MR. SHEATH." • Mr. C. C. Sheath, secretary of the New Zealand 'Jockeys' Association, prior io his departure [for Auckland on Friday, made an official statement to a representative. of the Evening Post in reference to the dispute between the OAvners and trainers and tho Neiv Zealand Jockeys' Association. At the conference called by the: Minister of Labour under the Trades Disputes Act, m 3, Clifford, he eaid,' acting as spokesman for the delegates of the owners and trainers, refused to enter into or discuss the items in dispute. Mr Sheath replied that it was news to him to hear thai.9o jockeys had resigned. The only person under the rules of the association Avho could receive resignations was himself, and ho had not received anywhere near that number. He had not had an opportunity of perusing the list, but the fact of Sir George Clifford producing it proved absolutely that the owners and trainers ivere a party to these resignations, and confirmed the statements of the individual jockeys that they bad been threatened Avith the severest form of punishment possible to inflict on any jockey, namely, the refusal of oivners to alloiv them to ride their horses. " Further, no jockey, Mr. Sheath emphatically stated, bad resigned,of his oAvn freewill.. ■Many members who had resigned had since rejoined, and stated, after mature consideration,, that they ivould risk any . punishment the owners threatened to inflict on them. . However, at the conference, delegates; of the association ivere representing 226 jockeys, and even if the association had only 15 members the law of the land said clearly that tbe other party must meet them and discuss the items in dispute. After Mr Sheath bad spoken, Sir George Clifford ivas again<&asked__to reconsider his decision, and ivas pinned down on, the point, an<L clearly and distinctly stated that he ivould not recognise' the' New* Zealand Jockeys' Association as at present consti-tutedv-ancl. further, that he would not recognise or confer irith any association of jockeys. Replying" to the statement of Mr. Sheath, secretary of the Jockeys' Association, Sir George Clifford states that fully 90 jockeys, had informed him that they had resigned from the association. . As far as he knowji, no individual jockeys Avere_ threatened with severe or any punishment. In this connection, he never had, as stated by Mr. Sheath, said that he would not_recognise or confer with any association jockeys. In fact, lie had already conferred, but nn association so constituted as the New Zealand Jockeys' Associaffion and adopting its arbitrary methods, in his opinion would only be injurious to all concerned.