Farmers back stand

Press, 15 April 1978, Page 3

Farmers back stand

PA Hastings) Farmers should back the: Hawke’s Bay Farmers Meat Company’s stand over the) beefhouse dispute at Wha-I katu to the hilt, said the! chairman of the Meat and Wool Boards’ Electoral Committee (Mr Tom Achison) in Hastings yesterday. Beefhouse butchers went on strike eight days ago in support of a 60 per cent increase in their contract with the company. Yesterday a meeting of ail freezing workers at Whakatu supported the beef butchers in their stand that they would return to work on an hourly rate to allow negotia-j tions to continue. The company has rejected!

si this offer, but sheep and ilamb killing is continuing. ! ;) The assistant general man-' tlager (Mr Bob Ford) said j|yesterday that the company -Ihad not changed its attitude Hand would not. It wanted I beef butchers to return to ■ work under full production. The meat and wool section of Hawke’s Bay Federated : Farmers, to Which Mr Achi ison was speaking, carried a . resolution supporting the i company’s stand. Delegates to the section said they did hot want freez- ! ing works to open next season unless there was indus- ) trial peace. I Farmers should not send, l i stock to works for the; beginning of the season; ) unless works were restructured industrially, with one)

II union for each works, they ■said. - Mr Achison said that 1 when this season staggered t to a close, companies should J stand together, and Feder--1 ated Farmers should press ) companies to rewrite awards. The companies i should issue an ultimatum 1 to the unions that works • would not open until the i unions abided by awards. i The meeting was told that three companies had applied 1 to the Ministry of Agricul- - ture to export live sheep. The section decided to ask ■ the Director-General of Agriculture to grant the appliij cations immediately because i of te plight farmers were in, i) carrying old ewes surplus to •) their requirements during ■jthe drought because they ■I were unable to get them) killed at freezing works. Unions oppose exports of live sheep because they take work away from their members.