Freezing Dispute Not Settled

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29778, 22 March 1962, Page 19

Freezing Dispute Not Settled

Because of the three-day stoppage in killing at the Belfast works of Thomas Borthwick and Sons. Ltd., more than 1500 lambs had been returned to their owners’ farms and large numbers had been turned out to graze on the company’s own land, said the works manager Mr C. H. Croucher) last evening. The stoppage could cause a shortage of fresh mutton for local butchers.

Killing of sheep and lambs stopped at the w’orks on Monday morning when the union insisted that labourers working on the slaughter chain be paid slaughtermen’s wages and the works management would not put up stock for killing tmleas the union agreed to work as customary while the dispute went to arbitration.

The slaughtermen had a general meeting at the works yesterday morning and then went home. The union branch secretary at the works (Mr F. E. McNulty) said the dispute had now been placed in the hands of the Canterbury branch and national secretary of the Freezing Workers' Union (Mr S. Arnst). Mr Croucher said that before the meeting yesterday an offer of arbitration was made to the men, but he had had no answer from the meeting. He said that he did not consider that there had been a lock-out, as claimed by Mr McNulty. Section 14 of the union’s award provided, Mr Croucher said, that the work

of the employer should always proceed in a customary manner and should not be impeded. At no stage had men refused to work, said Mr McNulty. Slaughtermen on the number one chain had presented themselves for work but the employers had extended the dispute to them by not sending stock up to be killed.

The union had never refused to meet the employers to discuss any dispute, he said.

Beef, calf and pig killing was continuing. Mr Croucher said, but the stoppage on mutton and lamb killing w'ould soon effect other departments at the works.

The stoppage could have a marked effect on the supplies of fresh mutton available for local butchers. Already some orders could not be fulfilled and. in some cases, frozen meat would have to be offered to butchers instead of fresh meat. Mr Arnst, questioned last night, said that there had never been any offer of arbitration "on this dispute. Therefore, the union has not refused to arbitrate. There has been no agreement to refer this dispute to a disputes committee.” It is apparent that neither side expects the slaughtermen to be working today. Both sides expect that the Labour Department will intervene in the dispute. The district superintendent of the Labour Department (Mr C. P. Collins) said last evening that neither of the parties to the dispute had approached him.