BUILDING STRIKE

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1939, Page 2

BUILDING STRIKE

UNION OFFICIALS’ STATEMENT

[PEIi PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

WELLINGTON', .limo H'

“Mr. .Tames Fletcher is an individual builder. We strongly deprecate his action in threatening to lock-out workers while negotiations are proceeding between union ollicials and the Master Builders’ Federation in an. endeavour to secure a satisfactory means of

settling the difficulties that have arisen.” Leading union ollicials made a joint statement to this effect to-night, after a meeting of the building trades executives with the Wellington Trades Council. No statement was issued to the Press, it being pointed out that the meeting was for the purpose of the council receiving a. report on the position.

Commenting on Mr. Fletcher’s decision to post, notices indicating a lockout. of workers who attended the stopwork meeting on Wednesday, the joint statement said a decision made at a mass meeting of workers in Welling ton on Saturday morning empowered the representatives of the men to reopen negotiations with the Master Builders’ Federation. This was done, and advice had been received from Mr. T. O. Bishop, secretary of the Master Builders’ Federation, that a meeting of bis executive, would be held on Tuesday, and he would communicate with union ollicials concerned in the question of reopening negotiations. “We recognise the Master Builders’ Federation as the negotiating authority, and are not concerned with any individual in the building industry at the moment, as negotiations can only be made through official organisations. No doubt Mr. Fletcher will have stated his case to his association. We have no personal quarrel with any individual builder. In fact, a large number of employers in the industry are willing to meet our demands, and recognise that they are just demands; but we have no intention of negotiating with Mr. Fletcher.

“Mr. Fletcher has threatened to lock out the workers because they feel like holding a meeting on Wednesday. We feel that this threat will only create great difficulties, as ( it will result in a much bigger muster of workers at the meeting. We feel, if lhe Master Builders’ Federation agrees to reopen negotiations, that there will be a satisfactory settlement to the dispute.”

ALLOWED TO ATTEND MEETING

WELLINGTON, June 20

In a letter to the secretary of the Wellington Carpenters’ Union, Mr James Fletcher says the statement appearing in the Press, that the dispute that has arisen can only be handled through the Builders’ Association, and not through Fletcher’s as an individual firm, is quite satisfactory to Fletcher’s. At the same time; he draws attention to the fact that the preliminary conference with the union, arranged at. the Karori housing scheme, was not arranged through the Builders’ Asociation, but direct with Fletcher’s office. He also points out the request that he should keep himself av<uilable on the occasion of Thursday’s meeting also proved that the men were prepared to negotiate, 'as also did the fact that they got a telephone call after that meeting.

Mr Fletcher said that they had been aproached by several deputations from their men, asking that they be given the right to attend to-morrow’s meeting in the Town Hall, and the firm has .agreed to accede to this request, and has advised all men that its factories and jobs will be closed to-moi-row, .to permit of employees attending the meeting.

CHRISTCHURCH ATTITUDE

CHRISTCHURCH, June 19

Apart from showirig keen interest in the developments of the strike in Wellington, Christchurch carpenters are evincing no desire to take action to express any disapproval which they might feel of the recent award of the Arbitration Court.

No details of the position that had arisen in Wellington were received by Mr. E. C. Sutcliffe, secretary of the Canterbury branch of the Amalgamated Carpenters’ and Jointers’ Federation, up to a late hour this afternoon. Mr. Sutcliffe said he had naturally assumed that if there was anything of importance to impart it would have been passed on to affiliations. “No stop-work meeting has been arranged for Christchurch, and any decision of the Wellington workers on the question of a strike would not be binding on members here,” said Mr. Sutcliffe. “We are separate entities, bound together for one object only—the gaining of Dominion awards. The decisions of one branch are not binding on another. A meeting of the Canterbury executive was held this evening. Mr. Sutcliffe said in the afternoon that there was likely to be some discussion on the Wellington situation, but any action was extremely unlikely.

AVERAGE EARNINGS NOT HIGH

DUNEDIN, June 20

Although the hourly rate may appear to be high, the average, carpenter earns less than a man working in a store at a weekly wage, stated Mr. Ross, secretary of the Carpenters’ Union, in intimating that there' was no present or anticipated trouble in Dunedin. He stated that the Wellington trouble arose over wet, jobs, and lost time ou the Exhibition. Bulldozers had been working, and llie ground was a quagmire after rain. The Karori job was also very wet. Mr. Ross added that in Wellington, some builders were paying- 3/- to 3/3 per hour, but the men brought from Australia got. only 2/9i? per hour 011 housing and Exhibition jobs.