Stock on move from Auck.

Press, 28 November 1980, Page 1

Stock on move from Auck.

NZPA Auckland Truckloads of lambs and cattle have been moved out of Auckland to freezing works in other areas because of a strike that is keeping northern works idle.

One source close to the freezing industry says stock from the < Auckland province is going to other works like “water going down a plughole.” But it is understood that some of the loads have been returned to Auckland by freezing workers. At least 2000 lambs are thought to have been sent back from the Borthwick works at Waitara, Taranaki, by workers there.

There was little movement yesterday towards resolving the strike by 7000 Auckland freezing workers, called because of a dispute over the Southdown closure.

The president of the Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union (Mr Frank Barnard) said a meeting would be held this morning to inform the striking men of the latest developments in the week-old action.

All 13 works in Auckland closed last Thursday after the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Cooperative (Affco) decided to take on 14 seasonal butchers at its Horotiu plant. The union struck because it has placed a ban on the hiring of seasonal labour until the Southdown works is reopened. Operating profit for the June year slumped to $2,695,970 from $3,623,396 the previous year. This was in spite of higher sales and other gross operating revenue — $206,015,057 compared with the previous year’s total of $184,208,421. The president of the Federation of Labour (Mr W. J. Knox) has been asked to intercede in the The F.O.L. executive met yesterday with Mr Barnard, and Mr Knox said later that he would be doing all he could to get Affco to reconsider its withdrawal of the offer to partially reopen the works. . -

The F.O.L. would seek the same proposal sought by the unions — the reopening of two mutton chains, a beef chain for a year and an inquiry into the closure, he said:.

Affco shareholders yesterday supported their directors’ decision to close the Southdown freezing works and asked them to take all steps possible to keep the plant closed, to ensure that the company remains viable.