MAY STOP WORK

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21179, 28 October 1938, Page 8

MAY STOP WORK

Trouble Over Drivers’ Award Minister to Confer with Executive Action Deferred Meantime By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, October 27. Roughly 800 members of the Auckland Drivers’ Union decided at a meeting to-night that if the conference between their executive and the Minister of Labour (Hon. H. T. Armstrong) in Auckland to-morrow is not productive of satisfaction of their demands for improved award conditions they may decide at a special meeting next Tuesday night to stop work as from the following morning. It was learned that such a move would have the support of all unions affiliated with the National Federation, which would mean 13,500 men becoming idle throughout the Dominion,. Other than to say that the Minister was coming to Auckland from Rotorua for the specific purpose of conferring with the Union, the executive secretary (Mr L. G. Matthews) declined to comment. The question at issue was the delay in an announcement by the Arbitration Court of the drivers’ award which expired a year ago. Application was then made for a new award, and parties met in conciliation in February and March of this year. Since the Court had announced in February that an increase of 5/- a week should be made to meet the increased cost of living, the Union considered that its members had lost at least that much weekly for eight months. Differ saces of Opinion It is understood that there were some differences of opinion among the men at the meeting. One section wished to give the executive a free hand in its negotiations with Mr Armstrong upon the argument that since the matter was in the hands of the Arbitration Court he could not give a decision/ The other viewpoint was that the executive should take an unequivocal stand and demand that the following clauses be written into the award:— (a) 40 hour week (at present 44 in the city and suburbs); <b) two weeks’ annual holiday; (c) an all round increase of 10/- a week; the last-men-tioned to be retrospective from last February.