NO SETTLEMENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 71, 15 June 1927, Page 1

NO SETTLEMENT

Arapuni Men Claim Grievances Apart From Overtime Dispute

STRIKE SURPRISED THE MAJORITY THE SUN'S Special Reporter. ARAPUNI, To-day. NO settlement of the Arapuni strike is yet in sight, and 430 men are still enjoying an unaccustomed idleness. Not all of them, it is clear, are in favour of the strike, so the possibility of unexpected developments is always present.

’yESTERDAY afternoon an Important x meeting of the strike executive

was held. The meeting was addressed by Mr. R. F. Barber, secretary of the Engineers’ Union, and Mr. J. B. Williams, organiser of the New Zealand Workers’ Union. Subsequently, Mr. Williams left for Wellington. The meeting discussed the advisability of sending a deputation to interview the company’s representatives; but Anally decided to make no move. Mr. Kelly, president of the union, later explained to a SUN reporter that they thought the next move rested with the company. Having been turned down once, they would not risk another rejection. Mr. F. W. A. Handman, the company’s chief of staff, later said that he In any case would have refused to receive a deputation, as he was Arm in the opinion that the strike was illegal. He would not meet them until a return to work was made. “We are in the right,” he said; “therefore we have nothing to worry about, except that delay at this stage is irritating and costly.” STRIKE A GREAT SURPRISE Meanwhile the strike goes on, wl. ' he engineers manning all the imp. nt pumps, and the strikers ami: cussing the situation. From those discussions it is pc ible to gather the feelings of ti. ien. It is clear that the decisic 5 strike came as a great surpri.o the majority. Some, indeed, d ot hesitate to declare that it wa -gineered by the radical ele /jnts at No. 1 camp, om inquiries by THE SUN repro '.five, it seems that the actual vot■i. Sunday’s meeting was 44 for the

| strike, and 14 against. Only about • 0 I were present, some not voting.

Now that they are out, whatever their former opinion of the strike, most of the men seem to favour going through with it. Nearly all consider that they have genuine grievances against the company, apart from the overtime dispute. They cite the difficult and dangerous nature of the work as a justification . for more lenient treatment. The living conditions, they claim, are not pleasant, especially when men working on the night shifts are un able to sleep through the din created by the construction operations. The statement that the huts were electrically-heated caused great amusement among the men. Actually 1 the heating system consists of two steam pipes running across the back wall of each hut. They are never more than mildly warm, and as a heating system are a fiasco. WRONGS TO BE RIGHTED Of the men actually in charge at Arapuni, few complaints are heard from the strikers. They concede hat Mr. Whitley is a “white man,” nd that Mr. Handman is a good feljw; but against the company, an enirely impersonal institution, many ire very bitter. With so many wrongs to be righted he bulk of the men now appear to ..eel that the strike, even though unwanted, should now be pushed through. Some feel, however, that the strike is not being properly conducted. They consider that Mr. Kelly is not the right man for the presidency. His supporters are prin- ! cipally in No. 1 Camp, at the main ! j dam site.