PRINTING PRESSES IDLE

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 19 March 1935, Page 4

PRINTING PRESSES IDLE

STOP-WORK MEETINGS CLAIM FOR HIGHER WAGES EMPLOYERS’ TERMS REJECTEE. (By lerograpt- -rress Association.) „ WELLINGTON, March 18. Without warning this morning practically the whole of the employees in the printing trade engaged in the torn chief centres of the Eominion, failed to put in an appearance at their usual places of employment. The reason was stated to be the holding of stop-work meetings in connections with claims put forward for higher wages, shorter hours of work and longer annual holidays. The result was that many printing establishments were idle and newspaper publications were interfered with.

At iChr l istch' v urch, Auckland and Dunedin the meetings appear to have ended within two hours and the men then returned to work. At Wellington the men did not return. During the afternoon the following letter was forwarded to the secretaries of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association and the Master Printers’ Federation: “In connection with the proposed agreement for the printing trades the terms offered by tli e employers have been submitted to all members of the New Zealand Printing Trades Federation. The result of the ballot was: Against acceptance, 762; for acceptance, 703; informal ,17.” The statement was made by Mr C. H. Chapman that a prolonged rtopwork meeting of the Wellington Union was attended by 400 members. Mr Chapman stated that the terms offered were particularly unacceptable to Wellington city employees. The meeting decided that members employed by firms agreeable to tentatively conceding als per cent, restoration of wages, a 40-hour week and a fortnight’s holiday annually should immediately return to work when a written agreement on these lines was reached.

Mr L. J. Perry, secretary of the Newspaper (Proprietors’ Association, stated that various unions recently filed claims under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act for a new award. These claims included demands for a 15 per cent, increase in wages, a reduction in the working week from 44 hours to 40, and two weeks annual holiday instead of one iveek. There were a number of other demands involving increased costs, said Mr Berry, but the above were those of outstanding importance. Conciliation proceedings extended over four days. The employers’ representatives claimed that neither the position of the country nor that of the printing and newspaper industries warranted such exorbitant demands, but following on the precedent set by the Government, and as a gesture of goodwill, an offer of a 5 per cent, increase, together with several minor concessions, was made. This applies to all towns and centres over 3000 in population. It would seem that this offer had been rejected by a narrow majority. The claims of the Workers’ Union involved in these items alone meant increased costs to the printing industry of approximately 30 per cent., or 15 per cent, higher than the wages costs at the peak of the country’s prosperity. ACCEPTANCE AT DUNEDIN.

The Dunedin section of the printing trade’s workers accepted the 5 per cent, increase in wages and an agreement has Deen reached. The Evening Post this afternoon consisted of six pages containing advertisements, pictures and news. Under the heading of “An Explanation,” the following appeared as the day’s editorial: “To-day’s issue of the Evening Post is smaller than usual and differs in its contents, owing to a stop-work meeting of the mechanical staffs of the printing establishments having been called throughout New Zealand for 8 o’clock'this morning to consider the recent proceedings before the Conciliation Council at Wellmg“The staffs had not resumed work up to a late hour this afternoon and as a consequence it has been impossible to set up in type and pr.int all the latest news, ‘advertisements and features. To keep faith with our readers however, we have endeavoured under the exceptional and unexpected conditions to issue a paper containing material set before the stoppage, together with some of the more important news in brief form.” A Christchurch message says that the mechanical staffs of every paper m 'the city held stop-work meetings, bun employees met from 8 to 10 a.m. and Star employees, who normally do no start work till 9 a.m., met from 9 till 11 a.m. The evening papers ' to-day were normal in appearance and of customary size. The staffs of the morning papers will hold stop-work meetings at 11 o’clock to-night, and it is assumed that the meeting will last two hours. At Auckland several resolutions were passed confirming the rejection of the employers’ proposals, recording disapproval of any reference of the dispute to arbitration and recommending that a. further conference with the employers should be sought. The meeting lasted about two hours, alter winch the men went to the various places of employment and work continued * • usual throughout the day and at the Herald office at night. The union met at Wellington again this afternoon. No approach was received from the employers and the meeting adjourned till to-morrow morn-