Freezing Workers Declare Ban

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31728, 11 July 1968, Page 1

Freezing Workers Declare Ban

More than 10,000 freezing workers would from midnight tomorrow ban the loading-out of all produce from all freezing works, said the general secretary of the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association (Mr F. E. McNulty) last evening.

Not only meat, but all export products from New Zealand’s 33 freezing works, would be affected.

Mr McNulty said that freezing works employers had been informed of the export ban after talks in Wellington yesterday on the freezing workers’ claim for a 7.6 per cent wage increase had broken down. In a statement issued in Christchurch, Mr McNulty and the president of the Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union (Mr F. Barnard), said that the employers had refused to open negotiations on the wage issue. Mr McNulty was elected secretary of a freezing workers’ national action commit-

tee, and Mr Barnard president Other members elected were the Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union’s secretary (Mr T. Kelly), the Wellington secretary (Mr T. Collerton), the Canterbury secretary (Mr S. Arnst), the OtagoSouthland president (Mr B. A. Manson) and the Tomoana president (Mr A. Anderson). Many freezing works were holding large quantities of meat for export, Mr McNulty said. He understood that at some Auckland works refrigi trated storage space was full. - In yesterday’s negotiations I In Wellington all freezing workers’ untons and all freez- ’ ing companies were reprei sented. The spokesman for the freezing companies was I Mr J. B. Walton, and Mr Me- • Nulty was the spokesman for • the freezing workers.