Freezing Works Stoppage After Chain Wage Dispute

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29777, 21 March 1962, Page 12

Freezing Works Stoppage After Chain Wage Dispute

No stock has been slaughtered at the Belfast freezing works of Thomas Borthwick and Sons, Ltd., since Monday morning because of a dispute between the management and the union over wages rates and conditions for men in the second chain. The union has decided to work strictly to a provision of the freezing workers and related trades award, instead of to a customary agreement which has been in force at the works for many years.

The company has offered to refer the dispute to arbitration, but the union so far has declined to accept this. The works branch secretary of the Canterbury Freezing Workers’ Union (Mr F. E. McNulty) said that on Monday the management had said that no stock would be put up for killing unless the men worked the second chain according to the company’s direction. Chain Reduced

Mr McNulty said that two full chains had been working up to Friday, after a third. 21-man chain, had been stopped in mid-January. On Friday, he said, the employers decided to reduce the second chain from a 34 to a 21-man one. Accordingly, several slaughtermen had been dismissed on Friday night “On Monday morning the 21-man chain worked for an hour. The management wanted to put two labourers on the chain; the union said that the chain had to be fully-manned by competent slaughtermen,” Mr McNulty said.

“Killing then finished for the day. The company then decided to reduce the second chain to a 14-man one. It sent telegrams to all the men consequently not required, informing them they had been dismissed. This would involve about 20 men

“Yesterday morning these men reported back to work because some of them were not aware they had been dismissed and the others had to hand in their gear. “The union then requested a four-hour call (appearance money—pay for a minimum of four hours' for these men The company refused this request. Clause in Award “The company also refused to put up stock for the 14man chain unless the union J

first agreed to labourers working on the chain. The union would not agree. “The union said that under section 5, clause 7, of the award, defining the work of slaughtermen and the rates of pay and conditions for such work, the chain had to be manned by slaughtermen and that, if slaughtermen were not available, labourers employed on the chain must be paid slaughtermen’s rates. “The company then told the men on this chain that they could go home as they would not be paid for the day.” In the past, Mr McNulty said, the union had permitted labourers to work on the chain at labourers’ rates. “We have now decided to work to the award provisions and not to custom and past procedure,” Mr McNulty said. “The company, in my opinion, is endeavouring to have some of the skilled work performed by labourers at labourers’ rates and not at the appropriate award rates for slaughtermen. “At no time have the slaughtermen refused to work and they are prepared to kill any stock put up by the company provided the company is prepared to pay all men engaged on the chain the award rate for slaughtermen.”. Mr McNulty said that there were always a few extra men employed on any chain, a full one or a broken-down one. This was to prevent bottlenecks and keep up the smooth flow of killing to achieve the output tally set by the company. Slaughtermen were paid on the tally: labourers were paid on an hourly rate, regardless of the tally. Killing Rate The same rate of killing was achieved by a full chain and a broken-down one. On the smaller chain, because each slaughterman was doing several tasks instead of one. bottlenecks were more likely and extra men essential for the flow of killing to be maintained. “No custom can override the provisions of the award The company in the past has saved some money—the difference between a labourer's pay and a slaughterman’s We have decided not to allow this and to work to the award.

"The union does not question the right of the employer to employ the number of men he requires to do the work, but the employer must accept the responsibility of provid-

ing sufficient men to make a chain workable, and not stop the chain because it. becomes unworkable through insufficient men,” Mr McNulty said.

He said the stoppage at the works was a lock-out by the company because it had not put up stock to kill although the yards were full of stock. "This is the first stoppage at the works this season, although there were a couple of slack days about the end of February. About 140.000 more head of stock have been killed to date this season than were killed at the works in the same period last season,” Mr McNulty said. Company’s View

The company wished the men to continue work in the customary manner while the whole question was referred to arbitration, said the works manager (Mr C. H. Croucher) last night. The pay rate for labourers on killing chains had been the subject of argument since the tail-end of last season. Mr Croucher said. The union had agreed to refer the question to a national disputes committee but had then withdrawn from that arrangement.

“The union has not accepted the company’s offer to have the dispute referred to arbitration,” Mr Croucher said.

Slaughtermen on a 14-man chain already had another five competent slaughtermen in the team to help them keep the tally that gave them reasonable wages. The 14 men on the chain were paid a rate arrived at by dividing the tally by 14. The extra five slaughtermen were paid at the same rate by the company over and above the money paid to the 14 men Labourers employed on chains were to assist slaughtermen to keep up the tallies without having to work too hard. The company paid the labourers over and above the slaughtermen so the slaughtermen did not lose any money and were helped to achieve their wage rates.

The number of men employed on slaughtering chains had increased steadily in recent years; from 24 slaughtermen on a 21-man chain to 26 plus two labourers "There are 19 slaughtermen on a 14-man chain now The union wants a labourer paid at slaughtermen’s rates which would, in effect, mean 20 slaughtermen,” Mr Croucher said.