Slaughtermen may earn $40 a day

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33981, 23 October 1975, Page 3

Slaughtermen may earn $40 a day

(Sea Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, October 22. Mutton slaughtermen at the Petone works of the Gear Meat Company, Ltd. will receive up to $4O a day for a full day’s kill under a productivity agreement registered yesterday by the Industrial Commission.

This increases the daily rate $7.20 on the $32.50 provided in the meat export industry’s general collective agreement. tn return, mutton slaughtermen will increase thecompany's full daily kill of about 3200 to a maximum of: 3420. The agreement will have no effect on the prices and charges ot the company to. producers. Under the norma! practice for productivity agreements.] a progress report will bei submitted to the commission within a month. As a result of the agree-1 ment. killing began at the) Petone works yesterday. ■ Killing has yet to begin at any other Wellington works. The commission was satisfied the productivity agreement presented to it by ’he Gear Meat Company and the Wellington Meat Work-

ers’ Union was genuine, said the president of the commis-; Ision (Mr G. O. Whatnall). ‘The commission is also satisfied that the workers) I have agreed to changes in working practice that will: result in more efficient working, in return for which! the employer has agreed to] pay the workers at a higher; , rate, or give them other! benefits. AhMirance given “The commission is alsosatisfied on the third crite-i rion in regulation six of the] I Industrial Relations Act, that: i there will be no resulting increase in prices and charges! in the business of the I employer, and has indeed reijceived an assurance in the ifirmest terms in this respect: 'from the company’s representatives." Mr Whatnall said. Although the commission ' says in its decision that the I agreement cannot be taken as a precedent for the in- ■ dustry. the secretary of the Wellington union (Mr K. Findlay) said today that requests for a similar agreement had been made by men ■ at five other works. “We are hoping to be ableto achieve this, and also to ;extend the agreements to a national basis." he said. “In my opinion, this type, of agreement will dictate the future of the industry in [both the processing and pro-

duction areas,” Mr Finlay said. The managing director of the Gear Meat Company (Mri L. Cameron) said the agreement was the result of six months intensive negotiations by highly skilled management and trade-union representatives. He agreed with Mr Findl lav that the agreement provided an opportunity for all industry employers to negotiate similar agreements. Mr Cameron said he thought it essentia! that this should be done, and that the I industry should get away; 'from the old wage-fixing [system, which had proved disastrous.