THE BREAD DISPUTE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26045, 8 January 1946, Page 4

THE BREAD DISPUTE

ARRANGING A SETTLEMENT ONUS ON GOVERNMENT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Jan. 7. “The responsibility for next Saturday’s bread supply lies now with the Government,” said Mr H. P. Burton, vice-president of the Auckland Master Bakers’ Association, in an official statement to-night on the dispute between the employers and their employees concerning the hours to be worked weekly. “ The workers have resorted to direct action to achieve their aims, and it is now for the Minister of Labour to act and enforce the law, if he is prepared to do so,” he continued. So far no arrangements have been made for a conference, as suggested to and agreed to by the master bakers. The Labour Department has now been advised by the Master Bakers’ Association that unless a meeting is arranged by Wednesday there will probably be no bread baked in Auckland at the week-end. “ There is a proper way for the union to settle this dispute with the Government,” continued Mr Burton, “ and it is high time that the public realised that the master bakers are not prepared to be forced into further concessions when the law is being flagrantly flouted. In this connection the union has never at any time produced an authority for its claim to work a five-day week.” With the baking employees commencing their usual weekly work on Sunday and early this morning, there were ample supplies of bread in Auckland and the suburbs to-day. From an early hour the shops did a brisk trade, and sales were reported to be considerably greater than is customary on Mondays. In anticipation of a rush for supplies, most of the bakeries turned out extra batches of bread, and practically all the stocks in the shops had been cleared by mid-day.