Freezing Companies’ View Of Claim

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31730, 13 July 1968, Page 1

Freezing Companies’ View Of Claim

Freezing workers had only to wait one month to begin negotiations for a new award, and at that time full consideration would be given by freezing companies to all relevant factors, said the secretary of the South Island Freezing Companies’ Association (Mr M. Willyams) yesterday.

He was commenting on a statement by the general secretary of the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association (Mr F. E. McNulty) that the freezing workers’ ban on loading export produce was a protest against the refusal of employers to negotiate on a wage increase. “We will negotiate only under the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act,” said Mr Willyams. “This provides for negotiations to start for a new award any time after July 28. We will facilitate such negotiations as soon afterwards as practicable. “We are quite properly not prepared in the meantime to grant arbitrarily a wage demand outside the provisions of the award.” The general manager of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, Ltd (Mr K. F. S. Cox) yesterday said that, as far as he eould ascertain, the freezing workers employed by his firm had decided to apply the ban.

“It will be embarrassing to us when there is export loading to be done,” said Mr Cox. Mr McNulty yesterday said that he had received no indication from freezing companies that they wished to negotiate with the freezing unions for a wage increase. He said that more than half the 33 freezing sheds in New Zealand had decided to support the ban on loading from midnight last night. “This means that the ban will be on,” said Mr McNulty. “There has been no opposition to this recommendation.” Mr McNulty said that as long as freezing companies refused to negotiate the ban would continue. Two meat works were yesterday negotiating wage increases with branches of the Freezing Workers’ Union in an attempt to avoid the ban, says a Press Association message from Wellington. Union officials say the two works concerned are offering a 5 per cent wage increase.