Job offers unseen

Press, 20 September 1980, Page 6

Job offers unseen

PA Auckland More than 200 'job offers had been posted at the job centre in a corner of the Southdown freezing works canteen by yesterday, but a Freezing Workers” Union black ban on the job office is keeping Southdown workers from examining the offers.

Offers of 60 more job vacancies had been received at the head office of the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Cooperative, Ltd, which runs the works.

There ■ were hopes, too, that jobs for tradesmen at the Devonport naval dockyards might be filled by Southdown workers, and organisations such as the Auckland Regional Authority.

Rotary, and the Auckland Employers’ , Association,

were canvassing employers; for vacant jobs. The trade unions con-i cerned with the closing of j the plant, and the laying-off [ of 950 staff, imposed the! ban on the job centre be-! cause they believed that the! company should try to keep: the works open. • A resolution passed by the combined unions yesterday condemned the “callous” dis-, missals, and pledged to con-' test the closing. • It said that there should j be a full public inquiry, and that the company’s books: should be opened to Feder-! ation of Labour economists, i The trade unionists said i that the public interest could: onlj r be served if the freez-! ing industry was owned and: run by a public corporation.) Farmers, workers, and con-', sumers should participate)! and control the corporation. |. The unions also asked foril

ithe Meat Amendment Bill tA •be shelved, because of the threats to jobs if works i were delicensed. They resolved not to man any new: ! works if the bill became [law. Their views will be .conveyed to the company’s, ; managers on Monday, when !a meeting has been arranged between 10 union representatives and the general man- 1 ,ager of the company, Mr T R, P. Gibson. ■ > ’i • “The unions want, to talk about keeping the”’plant open,” a company spokes- , man said yesterday, “but the 'company has made it quit? 'clear that it will close oii October 17.” . Mr Gibson said that the 'company regretted that the workers had been prevented , from using the job centre, o,r getting in touch with the [company’s personnel staffJobs, he said, were going begging. ;j