STRIKE AT AUCKLAND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 201, 26 August 1936, Page 8

STRIKE AT AUCKLAND

’ GASWORKS EMPLOYEES [ Per Pres? Association ] AUCKLAND, Aug. 25. Employes in the gasworks of the Auckland Gas Company. Ltd., comprising members of the Gas Company Employees’ Union and other workers, ineluding motor drivers. plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters, boilermakers and sheet-metal workers, stopped j work at 12.45 p.m. to-day after a series of meetings held in lhe works, lit was announced at 9.45 p.m. that they had declared a strike. By 10.15 'p.m. all stokers and men attending I Lhe boilers who were members of the union had been withdrawn. The comrj pany was ahle, however, Io maintain the fires with the aid of the foremen r and others, and at the moment there s is no danger of interference with the e supplies to the public, all the con- _ tainers being full. e The strike so far has not affected □ the works at Devonport. The dispute o with the company arose over the v question of the hourly rate paid by j - the company in determining the 1931 standard of wages. The strike was t decided upon despite the efforts of e the Minister ot Labour, Hon. H. T. n Armstrong, to arrange negotiations n lor a settlement through the Concilia,f tion Commissioner. >r ’ I penalty of £5O is provided in re- '' j sped of a contravention of this >’ j provision. n j The Governor-General is given ■- (power to make such regulations as he ' | deems expedient, or necessary to give full effect to lhe provisions of the Bill. All such regulations are required to be laid before Parliament d within 28 days after they are made l * if Parliament is then in session and d if not they must, be laid before Parliamenl w'ithin 28 days of the next r ’ ensuing session. e Fixing Interest Rates. - Any mortgagor whose mortgage »- was executed before the passing of ;- the Act may give notice to his morty gagee at any lime before December h 31, 1936, requiring him to reduce the rate of interest under the mortgage - to such a rate as may be set out in - notice. If lhe mortgagee within a r month after receiving notice does not reduce the interest the mortgagor is >- then entitled at any Lime wiinm ine s ensuing two months to repay the - principal sum secured uogether with il mterest up to the date of repayment ■- only. The mortgagor and mortgagee h may by agreement fix the rate of in;s leresl other than that specified in the y notice of the mortgagor. 4 In the cases where the mortgage is ■- a table mortgage every instalment of principal and interest payable after - the date ot reduction of interest is to s be reduced by an amount equal to the L- reduction of interest. Under the National Expenditure Adjustment Act. 1932, all int terest payable on c< rtain mortgages and all rental payable y iiiiiier .certain leases and also all it dividends payable on cumulative y preference shares were reduced e by 20 per cent, provided that the r rate did not come below 5 per >- cent. Normally this provision expires on March 31, 1937, but prot vision is made in the Bill that t such reductions shall be permane ent. The reduced mtes of inter- -- est will, therefore, be applicable throughout the balance of the r term of the mortgage or lease or e preference share.