Freezing Workers’ Group Proposed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31153, 1 September 1966, Page 16

Freezing Workers’ Group Proposed

A move was being made in the North Island to form a breakaway organisation separate from the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association, said the association’s general secretary (Mr F. E. McNulty) yesterday.

He described the North Island breakaway group as a “straw man’s organisation” that was going to be financed by a levy of 6d a head a year, compared with the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association’s 10s a year. He doubted if the North Island organisation would meet the requirements of registration under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act.

Mr McNulty said the meeting to form a breakaway organisation was reported to be first convened by the secretary of the Taranaki, Marlborough, Nelson, and Welling, ton Freezing Workers’ Association (Mr T. C. Gallagher).

Two meetings had now been held. The New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association had 3000 members in the North Island. The membership affiliated to the association was 12,447. The membership of freezing workers’ unions unaffiliated to the New Zealand association was 9853. These included Auckland, 4500 members; Wellington, 3719; Tomoana, 1053; and Wanganui, 571.

The freezing workers’ unions affiliated to the New Zealand association were Can-terbury-Marlborough - Nelson, 4293 members; Otago-South-land, 5499; Wakatu, 881; Taranaki, 867; and Gisborne. 407. Recently Patea, with 550 members, voted unanimously to affiliate.

These figures were Labour Department ones, he said. Mr McNulty said that the question of forming a breakaway organisation in the North Island was something that had never been put to the rank and file by ballot in the North Island. He said the move to form a breakaway organisation had come during the off season when the majority of members were not employed at the works. Mr McNulty said that in all previous voting, when members had been advised of the issues involved, the members had always voted in favour of one national organisation.

“We are confident that the overwhelming majority of workers in the meat industry desires national unity,” said Mr McNulty. The Canterbury Trades Council of the Federation of Labour had at its last meeting voted unanimously to oppose the restoration of a separate North Island freezing workers’ federation. “At all previous' awards it has been in the interests of the workers to have one award to cover their industry,” he said. “Any departure from this could create difficulties in the industry in future.”