Industry May Be Affected Soon

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31364, 9 May 1967, Page 1

Industry May Be Affected Soon

Industries likely to be affected quickly by shortage of supplies caused by the strike are building, cement, concrete block, plywood, timber, flour, frozen* meat and fish.

The general secretary of the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association (Mr F. E. McNulty) yesterday said that the strike could cost thousands of freezing workers their jobs if it continued.

The strike would affect the freezing workers according to the storage space available at the various works. It could affect some of them almost immediately. The association would deplore any precipitate action by the employers in dismissing any men at this stage. The association fully supported the R.T.A. and would in no circumstances load meat into road transport. A directive to this effect had been issued to workers. If freezing works storage became full and the employers could not provide work the association would expect the management of the works to apply section 8 of the Freezing Workers’ Award in relation to minimum weekly payments.

This section says that freezing workers aged 19 and more shall receive a minimum weekly payment of about £l5 when the employer cannot provide employment. Mr McNulty said that without the strike, there would be 300 to 400 freezing workers out of work in the Oamaru district and about 200 in both Balclutha and Gisborne. Because of the economic crisis there would be no work offering for them when the killing season finished.

Mr McNulty said that the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand) had admitted to a deputation from the association last week that on present indications some workers would be on unemployment benefit this year. “He said he would provide employment where possible, but he could not give an assurance that there would be jobs for everybody.” LOCAL WORKS A spokesman for Thomas Borthwick and Sons A’Asia, Ltd., said that there was a slight shortage of beef for killing at the works yesterday because cattle that normally came from the West Coast, were stopped by the strike. This also applied to pig supplies from the West Coast. He said that his company

was not due to load out till the arrival of the Hauraki, which was scheduled at Lyttelton on May 18. Borthwicks would have sufficient storage space for new killings till then. The general manager of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Ltd., (Mr W. M. Cleland) said that if the strike was prolonged, his company would have to put off some men. The company had ship loadings scheduled for this week but they would not eventuate if the strike was still on.

The assistant general manager of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, Ltd., (Mr J. T. Fogarty) said that available storage space at Belfast would be filled perhaps in another three to four weeks and at Fairfield, Ashburton, in another two or three weeks. Because Pareora was loading out for the Ruahine in

Timaru on Sunday—possibly about 30,000 lambs and mutton—this works might be all right for another two or three weeks. CONCRETE MIX A spokesman for a readymix concrete producer yesterday said that his firm bad cement for only a few days. He thought that most other ready-mix producers in Christchurch were in a similar position. Some big building construction could be halted, he said. This would apply specially to buildings in their early phases of construction, when there were large concrete pourings to be done. The spokesmen said it would be impossible to cart enough relief cement into Christchurch by road even if the Canterbury Drivers’ Union permitted it. FISH SUPPLIES Fresh fish supplies for Christchurch had already been endangered by the strike, said the managing director of P. Feron and Son, Ltd. (Mr M. L. Newman). Sick persons who needed a fish diet were victims of the striking railwaymen.

Mr Newman said that his firm had been extremely lucky yesterday to bring in two tons of fish from Kaikoura and two tons from Oamaru. Mostly groper and ling, the fish would normally have been transported by rail. He said he had Jo send a truck from Christchurch to meet another company truck from Kaikoura yesterday. The trucks met about Domett, where the, fish was transferred. On the roadside, empty cases for the fishermen were transferred from the Christchurch truck to the emptied Kaikoura truck to enable further catches to be packed.

A similar catch of fish from Oamaru bad been brought to Christchurch for the public, including sick persons, only because it had been organised to travel on a vegetable truck. Mr Newman appealed to those responsible for the strike to let invalids get sufficient fish for their health. Hospitals required large quantities Of fresh fish for many persons who were on strict diets. COLLIERY IDLE Almost 200 employees of the West Coast Liverpool State mine cannot go to work because the only access to the colliery is by rail. They will not be paid. Other district state mines worked as usual yesterday and production is being stockpiled until railway waggons are again available.