SECOND EDITION PRINTERS STRIKE

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXX, Issue 63, 19 March 1935, Page 8

SECOND EDITION PRINTERS STRIKE

For Increased Wages STOP-WORK MEETINGS HELD IN WELLINGTON (Per Press Association). WELLINGTON, Last Night. Without warning this morning practically the whole of the employees in the printing trade industry engaged in the four chief centres of the Dominion failed to put in an appearance at their usual places of employment. The reason was stated to be the holding of stop-work meetings in connection with claims put forward for higher wages, shorter hours of work and longer annual holidays. The result was that many printing establishments were idle and newspaper publications interfered with. In Christchurch, Auckland and Dunedin the meetings appear to have ended within two hours, and the men then returned to work. In Wellington the men did not return. During the afternoon the following letter was forwarded to the secretarie of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association and the Master Printers’ Federation: In connection with proposed agreement for the printing trades, the terms offered by the employers have been submitted to all members of the New Zealand Printing Trades Federation. The result of a ballot was: Against acceptance, 762; for acceptance; 703; informal 17.

A statement was made by Mr C. H. Chapman that a prolonged stop-work meeting of the Wellington Union, attended by 400 members, was held this morning. Mr Chapman stated that the terms offered were particularly unacceptable to Wellington City employees. The meeting decided that members employed by firms agreeable to tentatively conceding 15 per cent restoration of wages, 40hour week and a fortnight’s holiday annually, should immediately return to work when a written agreement on these lines is reached.

Proprietors’ Viewpoint. Mr L. J. Berry, secretary of the Newspaper Proprietors' Association, stated that various unions recently filed claims under the Conciliation | and Arbitration Act for a new award. ; These claims included demands for a 15 per cent increase in wages, a reduction in the working week from 44 ! hours to 40, and two weeks' annual holidays instead of one week. The employers’ representatives claimed that neither the position of the country nor of the printing and newspaper industries warranted such exorbitant demands, but following on the precedent set by the Government, and as a gesture of goodwill, an offer of a 5 per cent increase together With several minor concessions, was made. This applied to all towns and centres over 3000 in populated. It would seem that this offer had been rejected by a narrow majority. The claims of the Workers’ Union involved in these items alone increased costs to the printing industry of approximately 30 per cent, or 15 percent higher than the wages at the peak of the country’s prosperity. In Dunedin a section of the print- j ing trades’ workers accepted the 5 per cent increase in wages and agreement has been reached.

The “Post’s” Six Pages The “Evening Post” this afternoon consisted of six pages, containing advertisements, pictures and news. Cable and racing messages appeared on the leader page. ' Eight-Page “Dominion.” The “Dominion” will appear as an eight-page edition. A novel method of overcoming the difficulty of typesetting has been adopted by the “Dominion.” The main news pages, instead of being set in type, are being typewritten and the typescript photographed in the same w’ay as ordinary illustration pages are produced. An adequate summary of local occurrences, telegraph and cable news, will be presented. NORMAE IN CHRISTCHURCH CHRISTCHURCH, March 18. The mechanical staffs of every paper held stop-work meetings this morning. The “Sun” employees met from 8 to 10 p.m. and the “Star” employees, who normally do not start work till 9 a.m. met from 9 till 11 a.m. The evening papers- to-day were normal in appearance and of the customary size. The staffs of the morn-

ing papers will hold stop-work meetings at 11 o'clock to-night, and it is assumed that the meeting will last two hours. AUCKLAND RESOLUTIONS (Per Press Assoe.iat.ion) AUCKLAND, Last Night A combined meeting of the Auckland Typographical and Related Printing Trades was held in the Trades Hall this morning. There was a representative attendance of 300 odd members. A series of resolutions embodying suggestions for an amicable settlement of the existing dispute was carried unanimously.

IN HAWKE S BAY There has been no general stoppage of work in the newspaper and printing offices in Napier and Hastings. Instructions calling for a stopwork meeting on Monday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. for evening newspapers and from 9 a.m. td 11 p.m. for morning newspapers, were received by piembers of the union from the executive headquarters of the Printing and Related Trades Union of Workers.

Meetings of local members of the union were held in Hastings and Napier during the week-end. The Napier men decided that a stop-work meeting was unnecessary and the “Daily Telegraph” was produced as usual. The employees of the “H.B. Tribune” observed the union executive’s instructions to hold a stopwork meeting. There was no subsequent stoppage and a full-sized issue of the “Tribune” appeared at the usual time in the afternoon.

The employees of the “Herald” met last evening before starting work and decided that no action be taken until further information is received from headquarters in Wellington. •The staffs of the various printing works in Napier and Hastings remained at work.