Two bans not lifted

Press, 22 December 1978, Page 3

Two bans not lifted

Freezing workers at Ocean Beach and Mataura in Southland have still not met to consider lifting bans on the slaughter of stock owned by the farmer protest leaders, Messrs O. Buckingham and S. Slee.

They are unlikely to meet until early in the New Year to consider the recommendation of the Otago-Southland branch of the Meat Workers’ Union that the bans be lifted.

The secretary of the branch (Mr E. McK. Miller), who is in Christchurch attending wool scourers’ award talks, said that Maka-

rewa freezing workers voted on Wednesday to lift the bans. He confirmed that Alliance workers and the three Otago sheds had lifted the bans.

Mr Miller reacted sharply to comments made by Mr Buckingham this week that the farmers had shown that they were a force to be reckoned with and that their strength could be used again if necessary. “He wants to get that right out of his head. If he wants confrontation, he will get it,” said Mr Miller. It is Federated Farmers which will deal with any problems,

i not maverick outside influences. “The bans have been lifted only after a lot of discussion. It would be better if he (Mr Buckingham) did a bit of farming and forgot about the running of unions. We will deal with Federated Farmers as a group, not with any breakaway group,” said Mr Miller. Mr Miller also made it clear that the injunctions brought by the farmers against the Southland Frozen Meat Company over the killing of stock had “no bearing whatsoever” on the unions’ reconsideration of the bans.