Meat workers confident of saving job opportunities

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 23

Meat workers confident of saving job opportunities

Industrial reporter The Meat Workers’ Union is still confident of reaching agreement with the Pacific Freezing Company on the company’s new Oringi works at Dannevirke, according to the union’s national secretary, Mr A. J. Kennedy. It seems the union is biding its time, waiting until after the General Election and- until the works begins processing for export, when it will have more bargaining power. The union will also try to .put pressure on Pacific by persuading the Meat Indus:ry Consultative Committee io come up with favourable recommendations on new ’.echnology and jobs. The Freezing Companies’ Association wants new technology iritroduced to save labour. The union had earlier wanted Pacific to introduce a four-day week for five days pay to coincide with the opening of the works, where new technology minimises

labour requirements. When the company rejected that claim, the union put forward a proposal involving four day’s pay for four day’s work with killing five days a week, coupled with a minimum pay rate equivalent to that paid for five days. The company then coun-ter-offered with a proposal for a six-day week with a rostered day off each week. Each day would have been paid at ordinary-time rates. But the company offer was rejected by the union. The union wanted a fourday week to create 60 to 70 more jobs in a works which will run with less than half the number employed at the similar-sized Longburn works. The company has signed on about 50 meat workers and is running one chain, without any agreement with the union. But before the works begins processing in earnest it needs licences to kill for domestic and export consumption. The stock being killed this week will be used

for pet food. The company plans to bring the second chain into production next month and a third in January. Mr Kennedy said in Christchurch that the union had not changed its policy but was just “resting” at present. The union’s policy was that new technology should not lead to any reduction in the total number of jobs, and that where laboursaving technology was installed, the work should either be shared by bringing in a four-day week or more jobs should be created by diversification or expansion. Talks between the management of Borthwick’s and the union are still continuing over the introduction of new technology at the Longburn works. The union and management have said they will take into account in their discussions the attitude of the Government to the concept of a four-day week for five days pay. In the October edition of

Borthwick’s house journal, the “Bulletin,” which has just been published, the general manager, Mr William Gordon, says the proposed Longburn scheme would be a breakthrough in industrial relations. “Any talk of an employer ‘sell out’ for less work is nonsense. In essence we are offering the same working hours per week for a potential increase in productivity of 50 per cent,” said Mr Gordon. The intention was to convert the works with a potential kill of a million sheep and lambs to one and a half million; to control absenteeism; to reduce unit costs; and to increase productivity.