Ban’s cost soars

Press, 13 June 1978, Page 1

Ban’s cost soars

PA Wellington Charter costs for one ship hired to take lamb to Britain have soared more than $200,000 because of the freezing workers' loadout ban. The Meat Board said yesterday that the Port New Plymouth had been specially chartered to ship 5500 tonnes of meat to Britain. This conventional ship, on a daily charter rate of $lO,BOO. has been virtually idle on the South Island coast since May 18, awaiting her cargo.

The load-out ban on export meat was lifted yesterday to allow a compulsory conference between employers and workers to start in Wellington to try to reach a settlement on a wrangle about back pay. The conference was adjourned after 90 minutes, and the chairman (Mr J. W. Dempsey) will today hear separate submissions from each party. The Port New Plymouth was to have loaded her export cargo in Bluff but was diverted to Timaru because of the ban. She is now down to sail for Britain on June 17.

Ships had alreadv sailed with export meat for the Mediterranean, North America, Japan, and Korea without full loads because of the ban, the Meat Board said. | Beef and lamb exports amounting to 3900 tonnes missed shipment to the North American market because of the ban. The board said it would take a concerted effort by all parties to ensure New Zealand shipped enough meat to North America to fill its annual quota. Southland freezing workers have lifted the four-week load-out ban which had closed three of the province’s four freezing works. About 3000 members attended a meet in 2: and afterwards the national secretary of ' the Meat Workers’ Union (Mr A. J. Kennedy) said the men were reluctant to lift the ban.

Issues causing farmer militancy will be discussed at a meeting of the Dominion executive of Federated Farmers tomorrow and on Thursday, at Hamilton.

Last week in Invercargill about 250 farmers, complaining of a continually interrupted killing season, released old ewes in the city and slaughtered some of them. The chief executive of Federated Fanners (Mr R. McLagan) said he believed their actions and the whole issue would be “high on the agenda” of the executive’s meeting. The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) yesterday said that he did not want to gfet involved in an argument about whether the Southland farmers’ action was justified.

Invercargill row. Page 3.