LATE NEWS FOOD SHIPS HELD UP

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 March 1946, Page 7

LATE NEWS FOOD SHIPS HELD UP

STRIKE CONTINUES AT LYTTELTON DISPUTE OVER A LETTER (P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, Mar 21. After an all-day conference yesterday and another meeting this morning between representatives of the Waterside Workers’ Union and the Waterfront Commission, there is no sign of a settlement in the week-old dispute at Lyttelton. There are indications that the dispute might go on for several days. Again to-day no work was done at the port apart from handling mails and a small amount of other cargo from the Rangatira. ; The most serious effect of .the dispute is the delay in the loading of two home vessels with frozen meat for Britain. The Themistocles was to load 9000 carcases of mutton and the Clan Urquhart was also to load frozen meat. The consignments have had to be taken back into store at the freezing works and, if the dispute continues much longer, the works refrigerated accommodation will be insufficient to hold the meat as well as meat from the current killings. When that position' is reached the works will have to “go easy.”

The Union Company’s steamer Pakeha, which was to have loaded frozen meat for- Britain at Lyttelton, has been diverted to Timaru. A letter which has now become the bone of contention in the dispute, is reported to have informed the Union that unless the men accepted l/3d. an hour extra for handling the Korowai’s lampblack cargo, they would be dismissed and the Waterfront Commission would see to it that the men were not re-employed. The Union is said to be demanding the withdrawal of the letter. No statement was available after this morning’s conference. ACCIDENT IN MINE THREE MEN SLIGHTLY INJURED Three men, Messrs A. G. Davidson, R. Davidson, truckers of Greymouth, and Mr Victor Swallow, miner, married, of Runanga, were caught under an extensive fall of stone in the Liverpool State mine at Rewanui about two o’clock this afternoon. The men were quickly extricated and none received serious injuries. Two of the men, Messrs -R. Davidson and Swallow, the latter of whom received injuries to his back, had to be brought out of the mine on a stretcher. Mr. A. G. Davidson received an injury to one of his feet. One of the rescue workers Mr. W. Henderson, received a cut on one of his hands. ARRIVALOF TROOPS Troops returning on the Maunganui will land at Lyttelton to-morrow morning. The four West Coast personnel in the draft will travel via the Lewis Pass and connect with the railcar at Reef ton, arriving at Greymouth at 6.31 p.m.