Cabinet Discusses Works Stoppages

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31922, 25 February 1969, Page 1

Cabinet Discusses Works Stoppages

Stoppages in a number of freezing works throughout the country were reported to the Cabinet yesterday by the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand).

The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) told reporters tonight that the Minister was seeking a detailed report from his department on the situation at the Burnside works of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Ltd, according to the Press Association.

Asked if the Cabinet was concerned at the situation he said: “We’re concerned at any stoppage which is disadvantageous to the country’s export industries.”

The Burnside dispute is now entering its second week and a ban has been placed on the works.

The president of the OtagoSouthland Freezing Workers’ Union (Mr A. J. Kennedy) said the watch being kept by the union—he refused to call it picketing—was because of the company’s intention to load for export. Mr Kennedy said the dispute would end immediately if the New Zealand Refrigerating Company said “Yes” to the workers’ proposal permitting the status quo to be maintained. The dispute began after the dismissal of two men last week. The unionists claim they are locked out and are not on strike.

Mr Kennedy said a “definite statement” would be made on the situation after a meeting of the district executive of the union this morning. The works manager at Bumside, Mr J. M. Ryan, said that as far as the company was concerned, the dispute was in a state of deadlock. The stoppage represented a loss of earnings to the employees of $BOOO a day, he said. Belfast Loss

The strike at the Belfast works of Thomas Borthwick and Sons, Ltd, would have caused a loss of 22,000 lambs and sheep in the export kill by tomorrow morning, said a spokesman for the company yesterday. He said that the strike would continue at least until tomorrow morning when the men on strike would hold their next meeting. The men had struck last Thursday because they claimed the lamb cutting room was too draughty and that there was too much fluctuation of temperature. The spokesman said that Department of Labour inspectors had checked the aircirculation in the lamb cutting room.

“The inspectors found that the air movement in the lamb cutting room was within reasonable tolerances,” said the company spokesman. Ships Affected Two of Shaw Savill’s refrigerated cargo liners now loading at Lyttelton for overseas,! have been partly affected by delays in delivery of meat, to the ship. The Amalric, loading refrigerated and general cargo for the West Indies, was not| working at full capacity yes-1 terday and may sail for Na-J pier today short of her full j refrigerated quota from this port. The Cretic, due to sail for Mediterranean ports and London this week, may also be delayed because of the slow arrival of meat and pelts. Both ships continued loading yesterday but a shortage of refrigerated rail waggons also hampered progress. Another Shaw Savill vessel, the Iberic, which is due at Cashin Quay to discharge,

and load refrigerated cargo (or the United Kingdom, could also be affected if sufficient meat is not received at the port.

Hellaby’s Back Freezing workers at the | Shortland plant of R. and W. Hellaby were back at work yesterday. The 1300 workers walked off the job soon after 3 p.m. on Friday as the result of a misunderstanding which was cleared up within an hour of the decision to leave. The walk-out occurred when the company refused to employ a man who applied for an advertised job. Mr F. E. Barnard, president of the Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union, said that the situation had been resolved. Ban Lifted

Slaughtering at Borthwick’s Feilding works began yesterday morning and the loading ban on export stock has been lifted.

After a meeting of members of the Freezing Workers’ Union, addressed by the Wellington president (Mr F. B. Thorn), the men agreed to

return to work and lift the ban while the matter was referred to the Freezing Industries’ Disputes Committee. The dispute arose over chain break-downs and whether hourly or incentive pay rates should be worked.

Normal work is expected to resume at the Waitara freezing works of Borthwick’s today. An export loading ban was lifted yesterday by the Waitara Freezing Works Employees’ Union and a day-long stoppage which involved union members yesterday was reported last evening to have ended.

The stoppage at Waitara is believed to have originated over an internal matter. Textile Factory

A strike affecting 19 shift workers at Lane, Walker, Rudkin, Ltd, was ended yesterday after the company had agreed to invite reemployment applications from eight men who had been dismissed for refusing to work in the heat-pressing room because they considered the heat was excessive.

The company had undertaken to accept applications from all the dismissed men and to employ all persons concerned, Mr L. N. Short, vice-president of the Canterbury Trades Council, said after a three-hour meeting with the management. Eleven of the men on strike were day-shift workers who protested against the dismissal of the eight men on night shift who had left the room on Monday of last week, complaining that the heat was excessive and who had then been dismissed by the company because they had left their work-places without permission. Deliveries of butter to Auckland shops stopped yesterday when drivers of Farm Products, Ltd, struck over a new list of deliveries laid down for them.