Dispute Stops Work At City Abattoir

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28890, 9 May 1959, Page 14

Dispute Stops Work At City Abattoir

Killings at the Christchurch city abattoir were likely, to be held up until the men at the works were prepared to work under the conditions of the old award, the managing director of the Canterbury ByeProducts Co. Ltd. (Mr J. H. Sproston) said yesterday.

Work at the abattoirs has been at a standstill since Thursday when the men said they should be paid a special rate for handling sheep made dirty by the recent wet weather.

Mr Sproston said that on April 28 the company made a statement to its employees in view of the protracted negotiations for the new award. The old award expired on December 31.

According to this statement, released by Mr Sproston yesterday, the company considered that because of the ‘‘very complex nature of the existing situation,” it could not take any immediate action in regard to increases in rates of pay, and suggested to all employees that “any arbitrary action on their part could only react to their ultimate disadvantage.” The statement said the difficulties that stood in the way of a settlement were:

An application for a general wage order had been made, and no doubt there would be an early hearing

An application had been made for an 18 per cent, increase in all award rates. If this was granted higher paid employees would receive increases disproportionate to lower paid employees and this "could well have the result of higher rates being agreed to for the lower paid workers.” Killing Charges

The abattoir committee of the Christchurch City Council had made it clear that it was not prepared to make any increase in killing charges, based upon any increase in wages not in line with similai increases in the same industry. The statement pointed out that both the freezing workers’ dispute and the Auckland abattoir workers’ disp.ute were adjourned sine die without any increases being granted. Because of the serious position facing the by-products industry, the company was no longer able to meet abattoir losses with byproducts profits. Since 1950 the company had absorbed more than £13,350 in abattoir losses and the loss in the financial year to March 31 last would be about £lOOO.

“In view of the fact that byproducts value to abattoir users dropped by nearly half during the year ended March 31, and that the future outlook is even more discouraging, killing charges m future, must be sufficient to meet abattoir expenses.” An inspection of the pay records of local freezing worksmade at the suggestion of the men’s delegates—showed that the earnings of the abattoir workers

“bore very favourable comparison indeed with the earnings of freezing company workers, especially taking into account the seasonal nature of the employment of freezing company employees.” The statement added that the two-day stoppage in April “not only cost the employees two days’ pay without achieving any advantage, but led to the abattoir losing a substantial quantity of killings, and the earlier dismissal than would have otherwise been necessary of 14 employees. “Loss of business to the abattoir must always result in less employment for the men, and a survey of killings for the 12 months to December 31 last showed that only 46.3 per cent, of the total killings for the local market were done at the city abattoir.”

Mr Sproston said yesterday that the abattoir management had offered to refer the dspute to a disputes committee with the Con-

ciliation Commissioner (Mr S. W Armstrong) as chairman, but the offer was refused.

“No reason was given for not killing cattle, calves or pigs, although this class of stock is not involved in the dispute.”

He said that at the last conciliation council a statement was made by the men’s representative that if the men could not get an increase one way they would get it another way. “We can only assume that the stoppages of work, not only at the city abattoirs, but at killing points all over the country, is the other way.” Mr Sproston said. “However, the abattoir management is determined not to give way to such illegal and in.timidatory tactics. Until the men are prepared to work under the conditions of the old award it would seem that no further killings will take place at the city abattoir,” Mr Sproston added. The secretary of the Canterbury Freezing Workers’ Union (Mr T. Handisides) said last evening that he had no comment to make until he had studied Mr Sproston’s statement.