SLAUGHTERMEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9639, 20 April 1917, Page 7

SLAUGHTERMEN

MUST THEY BE EXEMPTED? UNION SECRETARY MAKES STRONG APPEAL. POSITION ARGUED AT LENGTH. Before the Second Wellington Military Service Board yesterday Air M. JReardon {secretary to the Slaughtermen’s Union) made appeals in respect ot Edward Andrew (Abbotsfield, Dunedin), T. J. Curran and F. A. Pointer (Pukeuri, Oamaru), H. W. Bowkett (Pnki Paki, Hawke’s Bay), J. E. Gough (Waitara) and R. Morrison (Wellington). The chairman (Mr J W. Poynton, S.M.) said that some of the men appealed for were at Oamaru, Waitara and other distant places. It was impossible for Mr Reardon to say that the men were actually employed as slaughtermen. The board had to consider cadi case on its merits, and would refer those cases to, the boards in the respective districts. Mr Reardon urged that it was impossible for any board to refuse to grant an exemption to any slaughterman at the present stage. When the season started there was a great shortage of men, .and arrangements were made to bring in men from Australia to fill up tho gaps; qnd those men would not have come if they had felt that they were coming to take ins place* of New Zealand slaughtermen, so that they could be sent into” camp. It would be. manifestly unfair to a New Zealand slaughterman to make him go into camp »nd for an Australian to take his place. The Defence Minister and the Minister for Internal Affairs had recognised this vrlien the arrangements were made. If it wore proposed to make any alteration in those arrangements simply because the season was coming to an end it would be very, unfair,

(fhe chairman I “We are not going to do that. We are going to send his case to be heard down in Canterbury.” Mr Reardon: "It is not his appeal, ft’s. mine/' The present arrangement had been' mads because at one time ho had been notified to appear at Tiraaru on Tuesday, at Invercargill on Wednesday, and at Napier on Wednesday, all in the one week. He was empowered to appeal for slaughtermen all over the Dominion, as if he were the employer, and it had been further arranged that all such oases should be heard at Wellington. ; The chairman: "If We take that line we lay down the rule that because a man' is a slaughterman he must be exempted.” Mr Reardon submitted that every slaughterman should be exempted, (1) because ip all previous oases slaughtermen had been exempted without exception, and (3) because no men would have' come 1 from Australia for the slaughtering season unless it ■ was clear that he was not in the Dominion to take the place of a New Zealand slaughterman. The chairman said that they had had cases where men had taken up the work since they learnt that slaughtermen were to be exempted-

NOT APPEARING FOR SHIRKERS. Mr Reardon: "I have taken no case in which X could not definitely swear that the man had been a slaughterman for some considerable time who had regularly followed’, the occupation. I have refused one. case to-day on that ground. I am not here, nor. would my, organisation'allow it, to gat exemption for any man who has taken up the work to ge.t out of military service. The arrangement was made in consultation with the Minister for Defence. I am in the Second Division myself, and every man exempted brings me . nearer to being called up, so I am not here to get exemptions for men who should not bo exempted. The board now seems to put me in the position that it will not accept my testimony .after I have been put in this position.” ’ The ■mhainnan: “Wo are accepting your testimony, but it can’t bear upon whether this man is actually employed as a slaughterman at the present time. The cases differ widely, and wo have been asked by the Efficiency Board to deal with each ease on its merits.”

Mr Reardon; "1 expect the authorities to keep faith with me. That is all I ask.” The chairman; "We are required to judicially consider each ease. We can’t exempt a whole class.” Mr Reardon: “I have adopted the method of having cases heard hero under arrangement with the Minister for Defence. If I had known that this extraordinary position would have been taken up. I could have brought the letter in which he authorises mo to appeal as an employer would appeal, and to hare all slaughtermen's appeals lodged by me heard in Wellington.”

Captain Cowlishaw (military represen. tative): “Did the Minister say -bat?” Hr Reardon; "Yes, I can produce the letter if necessary. The chairman said that an employer who appealed would have to prove that. the man was working for him, and that he was necessary to the business. But how could Mr Reardon prove tfiat the men appealed for were actually working or actually necessary,, at Oamaru, or Waitara. or other distant places? EACH CASE ON ITS MERITS.

Mr Reardo'n said that when the c.r. rangements referred to were made they were right at the beginning of the slaughtering season. In a couple of months’ time there would bo practically no slauchtermen required. Was it pro nosed the board that when the men rere temporarily not' employed at their trade they should be sent into- camp! If so. he would be very sorry for thi slaughtering industry next season. The chairman: “You ask us to exempt all those men simply 'because they are slaughtermen ?” Mr Reardon "Yes." The chairman: “We can't do that. We must take, each ease on its merits.”

. Air Reardon; "Docs that apply to all the cases ?”

The chairman: “It applies -to all the cases that . come before ns. We will take your evidence that a man is a genuine slaughterman., and the board of his district will decide whether he is actually employed or necessary for tho work. We know nothing about any. arrangement made with the Minister.” Mr Reardon; "What about a case like that of Gofi, who worked all the season in his district, and is now on a farm? Do you propose that he shall ba sent into camp?” The chairman said that the board had not had to deal with such cases before. They did not know what had been tho procedure of other boards who had dealt with them. They did not want Air Reardon to think that faith was being broken with him. They would therefore adjourn the cases till 10 o’clock next day, when Mr Reardon could produce the letters referred to, and if there had been an undertaking of nature stated they would "do something to avoid any trouble in tho matter.”