Prepacked Meat In Shops May Be Handled By Women

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28447, 29 November 1957, Page 11

Prepacked Meat In Shops May Be Handled By Women

••The Press" Special Service

AUCKLAND. November 28. Sanction for women to handle small parcels of prepacked meat in butchers’ shops has been granted by the Arbitration Court. The decision is signed by Mr Justice Tyndall, president of the Arbitration Court, and Mr F. C. Allerby, workers’ representative, although Mr Allerby has recorded his doubts about the maintenance of industrial harmony. Mr W. N. Hewitt, employers’ representative, dissented from the majority decision on the grounds that it did not go far enough in allowing women to handle only small packages of sealed prepacked meat. The decision will affect two awards—the Auckland (21-mile radius) butchers’ award, and the Northern industrial district butchers, except' the Auckland 21-mile radius and Gisborne judicial district. The paragraph in both awards dealing with female employees says that no female shall be employed as a butcher’s assistant, or in doing work about a butcher’s shop or the butcher's department of a combined butcher’s and pork butcher’s shop, or in any other shop work usually done by a butcher’s assistant, or in handling, other than in the form of smallgoods. any fresh, frozen or chilled beef. veal, mutton, lamb or uncooked pork, except small parcels of meat which have been prepacked in sealed bags for the retail trade.

Mr Allerby said: "I wish to express my doubts that allowing females to handle raw meat in butchers’ shops, even if prepacked, and at lower rates than those prescribed for males under thia award (these awards), is the best provision to maintain industrial harmony in this industry. Females have been prohibited by agreement of the parties for many years from doing this work under this award." The employers’ representative, Mr Hewitt, who dissented from the decision of the Court, said: "I am disappointed that once again my colleagues have not been prepared to face realities. The award now issued relaxes to a minor degree only unwarranted restrictions on the employment of female assistants.

"It is not contended.” Mr Hewitt said, "that females should be required to do or allowed to do all the work normally done by butchers’ assistants. but recent evidence hag supported my opinion that women are particularly suited to many present-day requirements of the trade. Prejudices which are so illogical as to be downright silly are clearly unjustifiable and should not be—cannot be—much longer sustained.”