Shearers Dispute With Federated Farmers

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31836, 14 November 1968, Page 1

Shearers Dispute With Federated Farmers

Initial moves to ban wool shorn in MidCanterbury have been planned by the Canterbury trade union movement.

A dispute has arisen between MidCanterbury Federated Farmers and union shearers over the local rate for shearing.

The general secretary of the New Zealand Workers’ Union (Mr W. A. Dempster) said yesterday that Mid-Canterbury Federated Farmers were exerting pressure on local shearers by advertising for shearers at $l3 a hundred sheep, instead of $l5, the local rate. Mr Dempster said that the action of Mid-Canterbury Federated Farmers in creating a pool of more than 20 shearers—the majority recruited from non-union labour out-

side of the Ashburton District—as wage-breakers of the Ashburton local rate, had created disharmony. Federated Fanners had been issued with a clear ultimatum, he said. If the farmers did not immediately see their way. clear to get in touch with the local shearers’ representative at the union and agree to a meeting, the union would take action. Discussions had been held with the Canterbury Trades Council oh what this action would be. In effect, it would mean that no wool shorn in the Ashburton district, eitner by union labour or non-union labour, would be handled by affiliated unions till a settle-

ment in the rate was reached. Mr Dempster said that the full meaning of the New Zealand Shearers’ and Shedhands Award should apply—i.e., that in the South Island, unofficially, the local union’s representatives and the local Federated Farmers’ representatives should meet each season and agree on a local rate to be implemented as the minimum and maximum shearing rate to be asked for the district and that neither the union nor the employers’ organisations should publish this rate, nor be a party to dictatorially applying for or organising any other role. Mr Dempster said that it was impossible to negotiate a minimum or maximum rate a 100 for shearing sheep for the whole of New Zealand because of the various types of sheep, climate and locality. The Shearers’ Award took these factors into consideration.

The established practice to avoid disharmony over the local rate each season had been for the shearers in each district to confer with Federated Farmers’ representatives and agree upon the local rate. “This sensible and realistic approach was dropped in Ash-

burton in 1967 by the Federated Farmers’ representatives,” said Mr Dempster. Although the union had objected, it had been disregarded. The farmers’ reply was reflected in their advertisements for shearers at the cheap rate. The action of Mid-Canter-bury Federated Farmers had been made known to the Secretary of Labour (Mr N. S. Woods).

Mr Woods had suggested that if Mr Dempster could arrange a meeting between Federated Farmers and the union’s local representative (Mr R. Bassett) and his committee, he would be prepared to supply a chairman to try to iron out the problem before the union took any direct action.

Mr Dempster said that he had agreed to this. The president of the Canterbury Trades Council (Mr R. A. Hill) said that the council would give its full support to the Workers’ Union in the dispute. The council would make sure that wages and conditions of shearers did not go backwards. Mr Hill said it was clear that Federated Farmers in Ashburton had been very busy organising cheap labour. “The trade unions are fully capable of organising their member unions to combat and defeat any such action.”