WORKS HELD UP

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20988, 15 December 1939, Page 9

WORKS HELD UP

DISPUTE AT BELFAST

THIRD CHAIN OPPOSED COMPANY’S DETERMINATION (By Telegrapn.—Press Association, CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday The refusal of workers to agree to man a third chain at the Canterbury works at Belfast of Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia), Limited, this afternoon, led to the company intimating that no more stock would be supplied for the existing chains until the additional chain was manned. The result is that the works will be idle tomorrow. An official statement by the Canterbury Freezing and Related Trades Union defines the stoppage of work as a “lock-out,” while the company quotes award provisions as giving it the full right to manage and control its own business.

Governmental intervention has been made in the first labour dispute of the J 939-40 freezing season. The Minister of Labour, the Hon. P. C. Webb, has been in communication with both the company and the disputes committee of the Canterbury council of the Federation of Labour. Neither side was disposed tonight to disclose the nature of the Minister’s communications.

At present the dispute is localised at the Belfast works of the company. A general meeting of the Freezing Workers’ Union has been called for tomorrow night. Although the company has announced that no stock will be available for killing by two chains tomorrow morning, the workers have arranged to hold a meeting at the works at 8 a.m. and to offer their services.

The disputes committee of the Federation of Labour stated tonight that it was still hopeful that the question of manning the third chain would be referred to a disputes committee provided for in the award. On the other hand the company, through its manager, expressed its determination that the workers should first man the additional chain before it would refer the matter to a disputes committee. MINISTER INTERVENES APPEAL TO BOTH PARTIES REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE (By Telegrapn.—Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Thursday The appeal which he had made to both parties in the Belfast freezing works dispute to continue production was explained by the Ministei of Labour, the Hon. P. Webb, in a telephone interview from Dunedin tonight. “When I heard that there was a likelihood of trouble and a stoppage of work,” he said, “I telephoned to both parties. I asked the men not to stop work and I told them that if they remained at work, I would have the matter referred to a national disputes committee.” The Minister said he would have had a national disputes committee set up without delay, and it would have met next week at the latest. “1 also made contact with the company,” he said, “and expressed the wish that they should leave things as they were until such time as the national disputes committee could deal with the questions.” To both parties he had emphasised the necessity of production not being stopped at this • juncture. He was interested in having the sheep killed. The Minister added that he would be in Christchurch on Saturday. _