Minister Calls Talks On Freezing Works’ filling

Press, Volume C, Issue 29702, 21 December 1961, Page 14

Minister Calls Talks On Freezing Works’ filling

At the request of the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand), representatives of the South Island Freezing Companies’ Association and the Canterbury Freezing Workers’ Union will meet at 11 a.m. today to discuss again the operation of the nine freezing works from Nelson to Pareora during the ChristmasNew Year period. f On Monday, the employers’ representatives asked that killing be carried on at the works tomorrow and on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of next week, and Tuesday, January 2. The union representatives referred the employers’ proposals to meetings of members at the nine works on Tuesday. Yesterday, the union executive informed the employers by letter that workers at all works would stop after today and resume on January 3.

Questioned yesterday, the secretary of the South Island Freezing Companies’ Association (Mr E. W. Wilson) said he had been informed by letter from the union that all freezing works from Nelson to Pareora would “close at the nonmal time, December i2l, and resume on January 3, 1962." “There will be no local killings nor any load-outs between Christmas and New Year,” said Mr Wilson, quoting extracts from the union letter. "Members of our union remaining on the works during the ChristmasNew Year, break will be firemen, engine-room greasers. and greasers.” Mr Wilson said that the tone of the union’s letter was high-handed and uncompromising. “The tone of the letter is such that it almost indicates that the union took to itself the rigiht to determine how and when the industry should operate. That completely ignored any rights which might belong to the employers,” Mr Wilson said. “If other sections of employees, such as bus drivers, policemen, traffic officers, and so on, decided to act in such a

manner at Christmas and during' the holidays there would be complete chaos.” Mr Wilson said that the employers’ representatives, at the request of Mr Shand, had agreed to meet the union to discuss the loadingout of meat for export at the works during Christmas and New Year. The union, by the terms of its letter received yesterday, had decided not to do this work during the period of the shut-down. The secretary of the Canterbury Freezing Workers' Union (Mr S. Arnst) said last evening that the president of the Federation of Labour (Mr F. P. Walsh), acting as an intermediary between the Government and union, had been in touch with him. The union had agreed to meet the employers today to discuss the whole question of the employers' proposals for working over the holiday period. The assistant superintendent in Christchurch of the Labour Department (Mr B. Tuck) will preside at the meeting. Mr Shand appointed Mr Tuck as chairman, with the concurrence of both parties. The decision by union

members at the nine freezing works on Tuesday is similar to that made at most of the works in the Auckland Province. Workers there are not members of the New Zealand Federation of Freezing Workers’ Union. After representations by Mr Shand, the Auckland freezing workers agreed to kill for domestic trade during the period and load out meat for export as requested by the freezing companies.