A FARMING VIEW

Press, 24 February 1978, Page 12

A FARMING VIEW

The president of the Southdown Sheep Society of New Zealand, Mr L. G. Mac Kay, in his report to the recent annual meeting of the society described industrial strife as the major problem facing the meat producer. “It would appear that our trade union system — a system that New Zealand inherited from Britain, a system that grew out of the guilds of craftsmen and tradesmen of a former era — has in our larger and more complex industrial enterprises outlived its usefulness and, indeed, its purpose.

“In our meat works there are several unions; often the strife is between

themselves; we are the victims of the rat race for ‘relativity.’ Relative to what? The national cake is only a certain size. Without a boost in exports it will not get any bigger and will not cut into larger slices. “For us all . especially for the man who has but his labour to sell, a new deal is required one that will generate co-oper-ation and trust, not anta? gonism. “Our elected leaders face tremendous problems in the field of international trading — the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, our elected members of the Meat Board, our freezing com-

panies, the meat exporters and, yes, the Federation of Labour.

“If there is any way as a society or as individuals that we can help, let us do so eagerly. The problems of our day are the challenge of the day.

“We live in the finest country in the world. Our equable climate and our green pastures are pecu--1 i a r 1 y suited to sheepfarming and the production of quality sheep meat. I firmly believe that sheepfarming remains the safe bet to pull our lovely little country out of its present recession, and in this the Southdown breed has a role to play,” said Mr Mac Kay.