GIRLS STOP WORK

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24553, 8 April 1943, Page 2

GIRLS STOP WORK

WESTFIELD DISPUTE OVER THIRTY INVOLVED TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE A dispute at the Westfield freezing works which developed this week over the employment of a girl in the casing sheds has resulted in 33 of the other girls in that department refusing to work. Their action was considered at a mass meeting of the employees at the lunch hour yesterday, when a resolution was adopted supporting the attitude of the girls,_ and requesting the management to withdraw the girl from the department. The dispute originated last week when, to supplement the casing department staff of girls, the management transferred this particular girl from the cannery. All the other girls, except about seven, objected to the return of this employee. It was confirmed by a representative of the company that she had formerly been engaged in the department, but was transferred to the cannery by the management about seven months ago, when friction between her and the other hands occurred. Failure of Negotiations The girls ceased work last Friday after the management had refused to comply with their request that the girl be hot employed in their department ; and, while they have attended the works daily since then, none of them has worked. Negotiations between the girls, the union officials and the management having failed, the dispute was I brought to a head at the mass meeting I yesterday. About 800 of the 2000 em- | ployees at the works participated, and the voting resulted in over 400 endorsing the girls' attitude and more than 300 taking the opposite view. It is understood that the girls are to absent themselves from work to-day pending the outcome of representations being made to the management by union officials. Statement by Official An. official of the company stated last night that when the trouble occurred the management got in touch with the union officials. "They investigated the case, and stated that they considered the girls were in the wrong, and endeavoured without success to get them to go back to work," added the official, i "We also got in touch with the Mani power Department and later with the Wages Commissioner, Mr. C. L. Hunter, who, after going into the facts, expressed his view very strongly that the girls were wrong in their attitude. He | had also endeavoured without success to ! induce the girls to return to work." 1 | The girl around whom the dispute i centred was a skilled calibrater, the ! official stated, and, as the casing dej partment was short of that class of i worker, she had been transferred there l after her consent had been obtained.