Works strife worsens

Press, 31 May 1978, Page 1

Works strife worsens

There is no immediate end in sight to the industrial strife in the freezing industry —- putting a cloud over the conciliation talks for a new award set down for tomorrow and Friday. The employers want a compulsory return to work, but it is unlikely that the Arbitration Court will consider this application today — or even this week. The Court has the power to order this if it is “in the public interest.’’ The Court is tied up hearing the general wage order claims of the Federation of Labour and the Combined State Service Organisations. The hearing will resume today and is expected to continue into next week.

As things stand, industrial action continues in 20 freezing works, and companies are likely to

start laying off workers today or tomorrow as freezing chambers are filled to capacity because of load-out bans.

The secretary of the Meat Workers’ Union (Mr A. J. Kennedy) said yesterday that since it was the policy of the employers not to meet the union unless all action was called off, it was “most unlikely” that the conciliation talks would resume tomorrow.

Speaking about the employers’ proposed court order, Mr Kennedy said that the policy of the Federation of Labour was to oppose the measure under which it had been made, and his union was affiliated to the F.O.L. “The F.O.L. has been advised of the situation,” he said. Under section 119 c of the Commerce Amendment

Act, the Arbitration Court may order a resumption of full work and at the same time determine the procedure for the settlement of the issue of the strike, if it is satisfied that the economy, including in par-

ticular its export trade, is “substantially” affected, or there is every likelihood that it will soon be affected.

Or it may order a return to work if the economy of a particular industry, or industries, is “seriously affected,” or it is clearly evident that it will be soon affected. Go-slows and load-out bans are strikes under the wider classification brought in under amendment No. 7 to the Indus-

trial Relations Act in 1976. Any reduction of the normal output or rate of work is defined as a strike.

Load-out bans and goslows are in force in about 20 works throughout New Zealand, but are not affecting work in Canterbury, where shed agreements have been accepted by the employers as complying with the terms of the Court of Ap- 1 peal decision last year about back pay for pieceworkers. The load-out bans have forced the closing Of three freezing works, at Longburn (Palmerston North), Aotearoa (Cambridge), and Wairoa (Hawke’s Bay). The closing of others is believed imminent. Several thousand freezing workers face suspension by the end of the week. The Press Association reported yesterday that the shipment of 25,000 tonnes of South Island lamb carcasses, worth S3OM on the British mar-

ket has been seriously jeopardised by load-out bans at four Southland freezing works.

Meat board source* said the lamb had to be on it* way to the United Kingdom before June 10 if New Zealand was to avoid a serious, economic loss.

Three conventional ships and two container vessels are scheduled to take the meat. One ship, the Port New Plymouth, scheduled to take 5500 tonnes, has been idle at Bluff since last Wednesday. ‘

Other prospective losses are contracts with Middle East countries, which are considered likely to be unfulfilled. Beef shipments to the United States may also be disrupted. The Meat Export Development Company, which deals exclusively with the North American lamb trade, faces a short loading of 15 containers of lamb cuts valued at several million dollars in its latest shipment.

Industrial reporter