WET TIME CLAUSE

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 October 1945, Page 2

WET TIME CLAUSE

[to the editor.! ' Sir, —At Ngahere on Sunday, September 16, a meeting of timber workers was held to discuss terms on which we were asked to resume work. The following officials were present:—Messrs Purdy, Doyle, Pratt and Baxendale for trade unions, and Messrs Topp, Turley, Nicol and Rankin, the union officials. Part of the correspondence was read, and each official mentioned addressed the meeting, guaranteeing that if we resumed work on the following day we would receive the greater part of our demands, and that whatever we received would be made retrospective from the day we started, failing that we would receive the support of the Trade Council movement. Several members were dubious, and asked that the whole of the correspondence be read to the meeting, but this was refused, and after several officials reiterated their previous remarks a motion was moved and carried that we resume work on the Monday. As all have read, the full demands of the men were granted over the wet-time clause, but was not made retrospective to the day we started. Members have not been satisfied over the conduct of the negotiations concerning the wet-time clause, and are wary of the spoken word of our union officials equally with that of the employers. If the Trades Council officials allow this breach of faith to remain it will be hard to know who we will be able to get to mediate in the event of trouble arising out of this or any future disagreement.— Yours, etc., BUSHMAN.