City abattoir

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32998, 18 August 1972, Page 12

City abattoir

Sir, —The alternative suggested by Mr Holland, of the Chamber of Commerce, is the only viable one economically. Buildings, improvements, and machinery—a million dollars or more for what? So that employees in various department could be through their work in an hour and a half. Mutton butchers dispose of their work for the day within fom hours, pork butchers within an hour and a half. Men boast openly at a nearby hotel, of working between 10 and 20 hours weekly. A retail butcher tells me that in the pork department, for instance, six butchers were doing the work that warranted three, four, or five men, depending on stock to be killed, and that even if there was only one animal to be killed, six men had to be employed. This condition exist:, as well for mutton and beef. Would Mr Churchward verify if this is so?—Yours, etc, ASHLEY. August 9, 1972. [Mr K. R. Churchward, managing - director of the Canterbury ByeProducts Company, Ltd, replies: “We submit that without factual evidence and general depth of the whole situation ‘Ashley’s’ comments are based on hearsay and therefore lack substance. Staff requirements for the various slaughtering sections are based on an efficient team to slaughter the daily requirements in each section based on throughput of yearly kills. At times, owing to seasonal periods (not to be confused with the works season) we do have short days. However, his comments on four-hour and H-hour days and 10 to 20hour weeks as normal is wrong. In fact, last year’s

average slaughtering hours on the three sections was 35 hours a week, and 40 hours a week for the labouring sections.”]