Employers’ walk-out leads to meat strike

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34106, 19 March 1976, Page 1

Employers’ walk-out leads to meat strike

Meal workers throughout the country will hold a one-dav strike on Monday in protest against the refusal of freezing company representatives to attend award conciliation proceedings.

T'he strike was called yesterday after the award assessors f rom the freezing companies walked out of a meeting with union representatives and the Conciliation Commissioner (Mr L. Fortune). The meeting had been called to discuss a new j award for 28.000 meat workers. The general secretary of

the Meat Workers' L’nion (Mr I I McNulty) .said yesterday that the employers’ action could undet mine the whole process of award negotiations. “The employers' refusal to attend the hearing has ere ated a precedent unknown in my 2(> years as an assessor of the freezing workers in conciliation proceedings 11 will have far-reaching effects in any future negotiations" said Mr McNulty Under the normal ptocedure tor award negotiations the union filed an application to the Industrial Commission on January 8, exactly six months (the maximum timet before the expiry of the current award Mr McNulty said tl.e em plovers also filed a claim but it was dated February 2 When both parties met tn Christchurch on Wednesday, he said, the employers requested that both applica tions be proceeded with. The union claimed that as its claim had been filed tit st it should he dealt with first Late the same day Mr Fortune tried to set up a con ciliation council in the usual manner, having agreed to go ahead with the union's ap plication. At this point the employer representatives walked out, and when the meeting was reconvened yesterday morning they tailed to turn up Mr McNulty said Mr Fortune had no option but to abandon the proceed ings because a council could not be set un without the employer-' assessor* being present Mr McNulty -aid that the union application met all the requirements of the lndu« trial Relations Act and that the union was entitled to have its application heard first on the ground that it was filed first