UNION REP. ALLEGES DOUBLE-CROSSING

Northern Advocate, 11 January 1938, Page 10

UNION REP. ALLEGES DOUBLE-CROSSING

[Per T’resr- Association.--Copyright,l | CHRISTCHURCH. This Day. j Allegations by a union representaj live of “double-crossing” on the part j of a section of the employers, and a j further allegation that one of the employers had “twisted,” made the opening minute of the plasterers’ dispute in Conciliation Council yesterday tense. After a private conference with the Conciliation Commissioner, Mr Ritchie, Mr D. I, McDonald, representing the firm employing fibrous plasterers, withdrew. Application was made by the Plasterers’ Union for an award. Strong Opposition. Emphatic objection to last-minute counter-proposals lodged by Mr McDonald, was made by the union representative, who refused to recognise Mr McDonald’s claim in the dispute. When the meeting opened, Mr McDonald announced that he proposed to submit counter-proposals on behalf of three employers. “There seems to be some doublecrossing somewhere,” commented the workers’ assessor, Mr H. Harries, “We are certainly not going to accept them.” Mr McDonald; If the counter-propo-sals are not accepted, the whole of the proceedings will be objected to. Mr Harries: By whom? Mr McDonald: By the people I am representing. Three Weeks Late. Mr W. C. Pollard, the employers’ representative, explained that a meeting of employers had been called and everyone notified of it. Certain proposals had been agreed to. and he thought it was only a matter of coming along today to reach a settlement. Now Mr McDonald had come along | with other proposals, but he was three j weeks late. j Mr Harries pointed out that there ! were 130 plasterers in the union, and 1 that only seven were employed by the j minority as represented by Mr Me- j Donald. They should go to the Court I for an exemption. ' After a private discussion between j the union representatives and the | Conciliation Commissioner, which last- j c d more than an hour. Mr Ritchie j formally appointed the assessors, with | the exception of Mr McDonald.