NO SETTLEMENT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11249, 29 June 1922, Page 3

NO SETTLEMENT

FREEZING WORKS DISPUTE NETT' SLAUGHTERING METHODS ADOPTED. “MEN AS GOOD AS GOLD.” There still appears to he no prospect of a settlement in the freezing works dispute down eouth. Most of the companies, it is stated, are busily engaged training free labour, and the men who first downed tools show outwardly little desire to go back to the boards. What will happen this week is a subject of general speculation. “Tlie men ano as good as gold,” said an Islington strike official the other day to a “Lyttelton Tinges” reporter. “They are not worrying the least hit. They are looking to til© Arbitration Court to settle this matter next month.”. “Dors that mean they will go hack to work in the meantime?” “Not much,” replied the unionist. “If the Arbitration Court does not give hack the os, the fight will continue.” “FIGHTING THE BATTLE.” “What about the strike extending?” “I cannot say anything on that. The South Island men are fighting the battle at present, but if it does not end in our favour before the start of next season, the North Island men will take a hand. Previously the North Island men have done the fighting, because their season opened first. Now it is the turn of the South Island. Our men are determined to show the North Island that they can put up a battle.” “What about free labour?” “The companies are not getting much response to their appeal. Practically x-he tame number of men are going to work' morning after morning. ! Nearly ©very outsider realises the position —that they will be known as ‘scabs’ for years to come all over Australia and New Zealand if they try to break the strike. The companies say they are not worrying. We know they are. “The strike is causing them a lot of trouble. They have spent m&re money in taxi-cabs during the past fortnight than they usually spend in six months. They regarded Canterbury as the weak patch in the union. We will show that_ we are tlic strongest. Our chance of winning is going up every day.”

BUTCHERS IN TRAINING

FREE LABOUR GETS TUITION. With the object of defeating tho strike, new methods of slaughtering have been adopted by the companies, and on Saturday morning Press representatives were shown men at work under the direction of experienced permanent hands. The scenes were particularly interesting. The idea has been copied from America, and in effect it means that, instead of one slaughterman doing the whole of the work on a single carcase, twelve men will take a share. This means in turn that a new man has only to learn one-twelfth of what lie would have had to learn under the old conditions. “A MASTER KEY.”

“There is even more in it than that,” said a company representative. “If the trouble continues till next season, the North Island slaughtermen will not find themselves in the strong position they imagine, able to hold up the pick of the tarmerp’ lambs, just when the Homo market is at its best. The American system solves the whole problem of dictatorship by the skilled butcher, tho man who boasts that he is indispensable, the boss dog in unionism, the holder of the key position. Now, the master key is in our hands, not that we want to use it except in case of emergency, for many of the slaughtermen are good ohaps, competent and reliable. But they must not be able to hold up operations whenever they oliooee. The latter method takes care- of that and the ordinary freezing works employee is highly delighted that it docs so. He is tired of having to leave work and lose his pay because of some foolish notion by the slaughtermen.”

ALL MAKING PROGRSES. There were gangs of recruits on the boards on Saturday morning, and even in half an hour (states a southern exchange) it was surprising to see the progress they made at the rather intricate task of slaughtering. Thera seemed full justification for the statement that under the American system three days will make any reasonably handy man competent in his particular portion of the work. .Previously there was too much instruction to absorb that it often took twelve weeks to make a competent slaughterman. The learners were of a promising type, well built, and all of them keen about getting to know everything about the business. Once each sheep was killed the work went forward systematically, some men skinning, others legging, and others dressing until the carcase was ready for the cool chamber. Occasionally, the leader let his pupils into the secret of the knack that makes all the difference between the properly finished article, and the mediocre. Buyers, drovers, ploughmen, farm 'hands, clerks, and general labourers were represented, and had a test examination been conducted when the noon whistle went few of them would have failed to gain something like a proficiency certificate. The next thing will lie speed. It is olaimed that that will be attained this week.