NEW PHASE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22313, 24 April 1947, Page 6

NEW PHASE

AUCKLAND UNREST TRANSPORT HELD UP CHILDREN WITHOUT MILK (P.A.) AUCKLAND. April 23. Thirty-two thousand children were denied their dailv school issue ration or milk to-day and at 9 a.m. commercial and passenger motor transport was completely paralysed here, marking ,a new phase in the industrial unrest. Recent weeks have seen a . rapid deterioration in the industrial relationships at Auckland, but not for some time have these issues so directly hit communitv life. The children will not get their milk to-dav because the Pasteurising and Bottling Factory Workers’ Union held a stop-work meeting for three hours yesterday afternoon. About 180 schools are affected, as well as kindergartens and private institutions. At the conclusion of their meeting the employees passed motions expressing dissatisfaction with their wages, with tilt delay m the new award negotiations. and other matters which will be brought to the attention of their national executive A side issue is the wrangle between the union and the milk treating authorities as to who is responsible for the children not receiving their milk. The union claims that arrangements could hav.; been made for ensuring the children s supply, but the milktreating executives say that this is not possible one of several reasons being lack of coni storage facilities. The last buses to the city this morning were those arriving at the terminal at 9 o’clock People dependent on motor transport after that hour had to hitch hike ’ This was because the Drivers' Union was holding a stopwork meeting in the Trades Hall this morning to consider proposals for preventing further delay in the proposed application for a general wages order to the Abitration Court. The city's refuse collection was interrupted by this meeting. The drivers’ meeting ■ concluded at 11.20 a.m after which the transport services were resumed A statement on the result of the meeting is not yet available.