Govt supports Oringi branch

Press, 4 February 1982, Page 3

Govt supports Oringi branch

Unless Oringi meat workers are allowed to form a separate branch of the Meat Workers’ Union, the Government is “of a mind” to pass legislation enabling them to become a separate union, said the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) yesterday. Speaking after the morning session of a two-day meeting of the Government caucus, Mr Muldoon said no firm decision had been made, but the Government would watch developments. The Oringi workers do not want to become part of the West Coast branch of the union, and under present law meat workers have to join an

existing meat workers’ union. “The feeling of caucus is that if the Meat Workers’ Union want to force them (the Oringi workers) into something they don’t want to do, then it would be all right to permit them to form a separate union,” he said. Any legislation would not change the rules of the two existing meat workers’ unions, but would allow other branches to form separate unions if they saw the need to. Asked if this was contrary to the Government’s policy of amalgamating unions, Mr Muldoon said the Oringi dispute was "a very special case.”