MEN MAY RETURN

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21185, 4 November 1938, Page 8

MEN MAY RETURN

Glassworkers’ Strike Outcome of Conference By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, November 3. Following an undertaking given at a conference of the parties to-day, 150 glass workers engaged at the factory of the Australian Glass Manufacturing Co., Ltd., at Penrose, who ceased work on Wednesday, will be recommended to return to their employment by Union delegates to-morrow morning. Negotiations between the employers and the men proceeded this afternoon, and with the assistance of Mr W. Laughte, officer in charge of the Labour Department at Auckland, an agreement was reached. The decision to cease work was made by the men on account of dissatisfaction with the fixture the Arbitration Court w’as prepared to give for a hearing of an application for a new award. Being members of a different union, drivers employed by the Company were not affected by the employees’ action. As the drawing of the furnaces might cause w’eeks of delay in manufacturing, the firemen were also not called out by the union. The men again assembled at the works this morning, and it was decided that, pending the conference to be held in the afternoon with the employers, they w’ould adjourn until to-morrow. As a result the plant remained idle, although the dispute was confined to the same section of employees. Full Discussion With Mr Slaughter presiding, a full discussion of the points involved in the dispute took place in the afternoon, the conference being attended by representatives of the Company, the Union and the District Council of the Federation of Labour. The meeting was terminated after two hours’ consideration of the problems involved, and Mr Slaughter announced that the Union representatives had unanimously agreed to recommend the men to resume work in terms of the agreement which was reached at the conference. The secretary of the Auckland Glass Workers’ Union (Mr Purtell) said that the negotiations would be reported to members of the Union at a meeting to-morrow morning. He did not wish to comment further on the situation. The Union’s representatives felt confident that the terms of agreement reached at the conference would be accepted by the men,” stated Mr Kearns, manager of the Company. He added that a temporary agreement, to apply until the case could be heard by the Court or the industrial magistrate, had been approved at the conference, and this was the settlement which would form the basis of proposals to be advanced to the men to-morrow morning.