“GO-SLOW” POLICY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26692, 11 February 1948, Page 6

“GO-SLOW” POLICY

PROMPT REINSTITUTION DECISION BY CARPENTERS ABORTIVE CONFERENCE WITH EMPLOYERS P.A. WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. The “ go-slow ” policy of the New Zealand Carpenters and Joiners’ Union will be reinstituted immediately. A statement issued to-day by the union announced that talks held earlier in the day with representatives of the New Zealand Master Builders’ Federation had proved abortive and that further stop-work meetings would be held to place details before members of the union. An official statement said that representatives who met the master builders subsequently met members of the National Executive of the union, and it was resolved that, in view of the employers’ attitude, the “go-slow” policy would be reinstituted immediately. A stop-work meeting would be held at Auckland on Monday next, another at Wellington on Tuesday, and it was confidently expected also, the statement said, that the Otago Carpenters’ Upion, on behalf of which the representatives in the discussions with the master builders were empowered to negotiate, would give further consideration to the position in Dunedin. “ We deplore the attitude of the employers’ representatives in this matter, but we are determined to continue our efforts to rectify the existing anomaly in wage rates,” the union statement concluded. The union informed the National Executive of the New Zealand Federation of Labour of its discussions with the employers and of the result. The union during the discussions continued to press its claim f t an increase of ljd in the hourly pay of Carpenters, to bring them to 3s Bsd an The U president of the Ne\v Zealand Master Builders’ Federation, Mr S. G. Shearer, of Eastbourne, in a statement to-night. said the federation met the National Executive of the Carpenters ■ Union this morning and considered the demands and claims made by the union. After careful consideration of both demands and the submissions, the federation informed the union as follows- “Having heard the submissions of the Carpenters’ Union representatives and their claims that the Arbitration Court has failed to maintain a proper balance in wage rates we, having taken- into consideration the basic wage rates of other skilled workers cannot agree with the evidence submitted to us that the court has created .any anomaly. “It is admitted,”'the statement adds, “that the union has created a dispute and in an endeavour to settle |the matter we are prepared to ask the Minister of Labour, Mr McLagan, to request the Arbitration Court to rehear the union’s case and we undertake to offer no further submissions to the court. Furthermore, we will be prepared, as always, to abide by its decision.” Mr Shearer said the Builders’ Federation had informed the Federation of Labour of this decision and the Federation of Labour, having also heard the decision from representatives of the Carpenters’ Union, had informed the Builders’ Federation that the National Executive of the Federation of Labour considered it inadvisable at the moment to associate itself with a further meeting between the Minister and the Builders’ Federation.