Start of killing in jeopardy

Press, 17 September 1976, Page 4

Start of killing in jeopardy

With the export killing season only a month away, the Minister of Labour (Mr Gordon) has intervened to try to get meat workers and their employers to reach agreement.

The importance of an early agreement was made clear yesterday by a warning from the national action committee of the Meat Workers’ Union that if an agreement is not reached, the season might not get under wav at all. Mr Gordon mot th<» national secretin' of the ■•" ton (Mr Frank MrNnttv) in Wellington on Wednesday af’®r the special meeting of the Federation of Labour. A meeting was then arranged between Mr McNulty and the executive director of the Freezing Companies Association (Mr Peter Rlomfield). Mr McNultv said in Christchurch last evening that the union proposed that the two parties enter conciliation council talks before the sta-t of the export season. Mr Blomfield had undertaken to give a replv within the next fortnight. A renlv was not possible sooner. because some of the members of the Freezing Companies' Associa tion were overseas. Mr McNulty said that he would fix a date for the talks to proceed.

After the meeting between I Messrs McNulty and Blomfield. the national action com-: mittee of the union met in Wellington. It issued a state-; ment last evening saving:! "Many workers will refuse to applv for employment at the start of the export sea-1 son because of the possjbili-] ties of industrial unrest, and this will undoubtedly lead to I a delay in the start of the! export season.”

The committee asked the I association “to enter into l meaningful discussions on j the claims of both parties” and urged that “the union’s! claims be considered without | interference from the Emoloyers' Federation in relation to the wage regula-] tions.” The committee reaffirmed | its claims, and unanimously I agreed to pursue them. Mr McNult” said that the meat workers wanted a solu . 'ion to the imnasse so that the season cojld get under wav. Among th' items to be dis- I cussed are adjustments for [ slaughtermen, travel allow-1 ances, redundancy payments I because of changes in the in 1 dustry, and a wage increase! under the “exceptional circumstances” clause of the'

wage regulations. The union wants a 14 per cent wage increase.

Talks broke down in Dunedin last month before the claims could go . before the Industrial Commission.