AUCKLAND FISH DISPUTE SETTLED

Northern Advocate, 24 October 1936, Page 2

AUCKLAND FISH DISPUTE SETTLED

MEN AGREE TO DEALERS’ TERMS

[Special to “Northern Advocate”l AUCKLAND, This Day. « A‘ tentative agreement submitted ' from a conference of the wholesale dealers yesterday afternoon was aci; cepted by a meeting of the Auckland | fishermen this morning. This means £ a virtual end of the dispute between * the fishermen, whose boats have been | tied up in port for the past fortnight, % because the dealers would not guarantee them 2d per lb. for schnapper.

The dealers have been discussing, .djiring,, the past few days, a scheme for an agreement among themselves ' competition and price-cut-..ting on the Australian mairket could be eliminated and the price there fixed at such a level as to enable them

::jtd pay at Auckland the price the fishermen demanded. Tihe dealers’ conference concluded yesterday; afternoon, when only one -dealer refused to acquiesce m the agreement, to which the others were filing to adhere. The proposals clrawn up by the dealers in conference yesterday' were submitted to a of the fishermen at the Trades Hall this morning, and they /'■passed the following resolution: — ' r Vi That this meeting of Auckland fishermen hereby affirms the conviction : the, poor return we receive for -• our- labour is solely due to the unftVeg’ulated -state of the fish industry, f particularly, in regard to the export

triage, ; and that we have become a . chopping block for the conflicting in'terests of life whole service Short of a direct.control of the industry by the Government, we regard the agreement novir proposed by the wholesalers as a welcome development. V We believe •that it will tend to stabilise the industry and: check the certain progressive deplgtiohs of the fishing pounds, • while, at the same time, ensuring fishbarmen of a reasonable standard of livwithout unduly inprehsing the _price of fish to the. people, tri v w‘For, these seasons, we support the ; ‘Strid proposed' agreement, arid, further, •H we'rire of the opinion that wholesalers --Who-refuse to become parties to the same thereby lay themselves open to £ the charge of preferring to sacrifice - the future of the industry as a whole j to their immediate interests, since a 1 continuation of the conditions spells J more intense exploitation of/the fishi erman, and ultimate depletion of the fishing grounds.” ' / | "A resolution was passed that all S boats should go to sea, with the'excep- | tion of the boats belonging to the one * firm which, up to the present, has re--fused to become *a party to the agreeILment referred to in the previous.resof' 1uti0n.^^,,.... • 5 It Is-understood that the boats will s ' put to sea bri Tuesday morning. i 1 ...» >