GRAVE PROBLEMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22627, 15 January 1937, Page 10

GRAVE PROBLEMS

MEETINGS OF MEN MR. ARMSTRONG'S MESSAGE ATTITUDE NOT CHANGED ALL MACHINERY STILLED A more serious turn of events in the freezing workers' dispute took place yesterday with the decision of the hands at Horotiu to follow the lead given by Wcstfield, Southdown and King's Wharf, and the affirmation by all the men of their previous decision to stay-in at their works until the employers proffered some solution of the trouble. Sheep and other beasts in the Westfield and Southdown holding paddocks were returned to consignors, expensive plants lay idle, and the various buying and selling units which form part of the sheep, cattle and dairy produce industries were brought face to face with grave problems. No Improvement Shown The position at nine o'clock last night was no better than it was 24 hours before. 111 the morning delegates from, tho works had a meeting, but apparently the main topic of discus-1 6ion was the commissariat, since there were no developments between then and three o'clock, when Mr. W. J£. Sill, union secretary, read a telegram from the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong. The meeting of delegates in the afternoon lasted some time. The Westfield hands were then assembled in one of the large dressing rooms, and they had read to them the Minister's appeal to return to work. This meeting lasted about an hour, and after the close it was announced that tho union had not changed its attitude, but was determined to continue. Men White With Cold The Southdown men held a similar meeting last night, and they adopted a similar course. Like their fellows at Westfield, their passive demeanour of the previous night had not changed, in spite of the lack of hot meals and comfortable sleeping quarters. A biting wind swept through the grounds, and the hands and faces of some of the Workers were white with cold.

The deep quiet which had displaced the noise of whirring machinery and the sharp blasts of escaping steam bore mute witness to the dislocation of industry in all its branches.

Members of the freezing companies' executive made no secret of the serious light in which they viewed the position. Hundreds of tons of produce of different sorts lie about wharves and works. Thousands of pounds' worth of valuable machinery stands silent and unattended. Both owners and employees are hopeful of a'settlement. They said so yesterday.

KING'S WHARF WORKS :TASK FOR OFFICE STAFF NO INTERFERENCE OFFERED Although pickets were stationed outside the King's Wharf works of the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Company from early morning, they made 110 attempt to obstruct members of the office staff of the company, who were called in yesterday to assist in moving boxes of butter into the cool stores. About 19 office workers arrived during the day, atjfL after changing into overalls, began the task of transferring between 1000 and 1500 boxes of butter. Being unused to the work they did not make very rapid progress/ and they returned in the evening to work for two hours until eight o'clock. The fact that some of these men were members of the Auckland Freezing Clerical Workers' Union resulted in a deputation from the men staying in the works seeking out the local secret.arr to draw his attention to the fact that, as unionists, they should not be doing the work. A representative of the men stated yesterday that, the secretary was found to be among the volunteer workers and was advised to ennsult tho Dominion secretary as to the position of the members of his union. Still determined to continue their stay-in, tactics, the King's Wharf men are now well organised. They have only the wooden tables in the lunch room to sleep on, but there is an ample supplv of blankets and coats. Pickets were allowed out in small relays yesterday to carry messages to the men's relatives, and the catering was well organised. A number of the men were allowed out for tea last night, and they returned to take up their positions again.