FREEZING WORKERS

Wairarapa Daily Times, 25 August 1936, Page 4

FREEZING WORKERS

UNION OFFICIALS’ STATEMENT.

WELLINGTON, This Day.

Mr Alex. McLeod, secretary of the Wellington District Freezing Workers’ Union, and Mr J. A. Milburn, secretary of the Otago and Southland Freezing Workers’ Union, state:—“Since our return from Auckland numerous enquiries have been received in respect of the sudden withdrawal of the freezing workers’ dispute from the Arbitration Court in Auckland, as reported in the Press Association message this month, and which caused some misunderstanding. For the purpose of clarifying the position, we wish to state that theio were three separate disputes referred to the court for settlement, namely, the North and South Island Freezing Workers’ Associations, which includes the Auckland District Freezing Workers’ Union, the Wellington and Otago and Southland District Unions. But to expedite matters, the Arbitration Gouit, while in Wellington, added the Wellington and Otago and Southland Unions as parties to the North and South Island Association’s dispute, and set down a date for hearing at the Auckland sitting. At the eleventh hour, for reasons best known to the North and South Island Associations, they decided to withdraw the dispute from the Court. No notification of this was given to the freezing companies or the Wellington, Otago and Southland Unions until representatives of these parties were en route to Auckland for the hearing. The position now is, we understand, that the North and South Island Associations are taking steps: to file a fresh dispute, but the Wellington and Otago and Southland districts’ original disputes still stand, and will be heard on the Court’s return to Wellington, and should hold precedence to any fresh dispute filed by the North and South Islands’ Associations. —(P.A.)