Employers Demand Work Before Freezing Talks

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32395, 7 September 1970, Page 14

Employers Demand Work Before Freezing Talks

(New Zealand Press Association)

INVERCARGILL, September 6.

All engineers employed by New Zealand freezing companies must return to normal work before the employers would meet them to discuss the disputed ruling rate agreement, said the secretary of the Freezing Companies’ Union of Employers (Mr J. Murray) in Wellington last evening.

“We would like to discuss with the union whether the 27 per cent rate above the award is equivalent to today’s ruling rate,” said Mr Murray.

The freezing industry was prepared to pay, and was paying, ruling rates to tradesmen employed in works. To October last year, there was a margin between ruling rates and award rates of freezer tradesmen. It was agreed in October to pay 27 per cent above award rates to compensate for the difference between award and ruling rates. Mr Murray said that this agreement with the Engineers’ Union still held. In this agreement a clause said that the tradesmen and the union must give employers three months notice if they wished to terminate the agreement.

“The present award expires in June, next year, and as

freezing companies we are already doing all we can to facilitate the termination of the award so that a new ruling rate award can be negotiated.

“Apparently the union is not prepared to wait on these discussions, although they could be initiated within the next few weeks,” Mr Murray said.

Auckland Talks

The week-long fitters’ dispute has closed two of the Auckland works and the others are working at less than half speed. The fitters have said they will not return to work until they get an increase of 9c an hour (to $1.40) the negotiation of a new award, and the payment of a margin above that of 27 per cent.

Tomorrow morning fitters’ representatives will meet representatives of other unions affected by the dispute. Mr F. E. Barnard, president of the Auckland Freezing Workers and Abbatoir Em-

ployees’ Union, said tonight that the effects of the strike on his union’s members had been disastrous.

“By Wednesday it will be right over our heads. There will be virtually none of our members left in work, but we have given them the green light to go ahead and look for other jobs to keep them going."

Meeting Planned

Discussions will be held in Wellington on Friday between the Federation of Labour, the Secretary of Labour (Mr E. G. Davey), and a representative of the Minister of Labour (Mr Marshall) on proposed legislation requiring the killing of all stock in transit to works at the time any dispute begins at freezing works. Mr Barnard, who was at the preliminary meeting of the parties in Wellington last Friday, said tonight that it soon became obvious that more than freezing workers’ unions were involved. “I think the secretaries of all unions involved in the freezing industry will probably be at the meeting,” he said, “because it is obvious that they will all be involved in any possible legislation.

“The Minister has made this quite clear.”