Union men acquitted

Press, 16 March 1982, Page 6

Union men acquitted

PA Dannervirke Trespass charges against two officials of the Meat Workers’ Union, who climbed a security fence in an attempt to address workers at the Oringi freezing works, have been dismissed. Judge Sheehan said in a written judgment yesterday in the District Court at Davvervirke that the hetions of both the employer, Pacific Freezing, and the union’s

West Coast (North Island) branch president and vicepresident, Roger Middlemass and Ray Potroz, respectively, had been “ill judged and precipitate. They would have been better advised to rely on their remedies under the award and under the Industrial Relations Act." The circumstances did not justify the invoking of criminal law The Judge had reserved

his decision after a defended hearing of the charges on February 25. Evidence was given at that hearing that the defendants had been told by Pacific Freezing’s managing director, Mr Graeme Lowe, when they had called at the works’ office early on January 26, that it was not convenient for them to address the workers because the company was “carrying out business on its own."

Mr Lowe said in evidence that later, during a meeting with the workers in the works canteen, he had seen the defendants scale a security fence. He had asked them two or three times to leave the premises and when they had refused to do so he had called the police.

The Judge said in his judgment, “Without entering too much into the sphere of industrial politics, and labour relations, would it not have been a reasonable course to follow at the 9.30 a.m. meeting to have allowed all interested factions, including the manager and defendants, to have their, say before allowing the workers to vote on the issue or issues?”