Splits appearing over Islington dispute

Press, 11 December 1982, Page 1

Splits appearing over Islington dispute

Industrial reporter Dissension has started to appear in the ranks of the Meat Workers’ Union over levies being used to support Islington workers, who have not had work for eight weeks in a dispute over the cancellation of incentive contracts.

. Normally at this time of the killing season Islington would have been employing more than 600 workers. Two hundred and sixty of these were involved on October 15 when the dispute began, and many of these meet every Saturday near the works to receive grocery vouchers paid for out of the national appeal. The appeal money has come from levies of $lO a week on members in sheds throughout New Zealand, though the union has not disclosed how many of its 24.000 members are paying the levy each week.

The Press Association reported yesterday that the Labour Department was investigating a complaint by

freezing workers were pressured by union officials into paying the levy. It has been alleged that voting at a union meeting on Thursday was taken by a show of hands to identify those opposed to the - levy. They were then abused arid had their names written on the staff noticeboard. Officials of the Whakatu sub-branch of the Meat Workers’ Union were interviewed by Labour Department officers.

The Labour Departments district superintendent at Hastings, Mr D. Huggett, confirmed yesterday that the department’s head office had asked for the investigation and that a report was sent to Wellington yesterday.

Local meat workers’ officials have declined to comment on the allegations. In Canterbury, it is believed that two meat workers have refused to pay the levy. The secretary of the Canterbury branch, Mr W. R. Cameron, has declined to comment.

Section 182 of the Industrial Relations Act provides for a penalty of up to $2OO against any union which compels or attempts directly or indirectly to compel any person to pay any sum in contravention "of the section, which says that where a levy is more than $lO a year, it must first be approved by a majority at a secret ballot. Under the union’s rules, as long as a secret ballot.has been held and a majority.has approved the levy, each member is compelled to pay it. The union may recover the money owing through any court, or it could, under its rules, take more extreme action such as expelling the defaulter. The decision to expel could be taken by any branch executive committee.

Expulsion could mean that a worker might be unable to stay in his job because of the unqualified preference clause in the meat workers’ award. That would depend on whether the employer was prepared to stand up to possible legal and industrial

action by the union to enforce the’ clause. However, the worker could subsequently seek reinstatement through the Arbitration Court which would then have to consider whether the unqualified preference clause still held when a worker was ready and willing to belong to a union but was prevented from joining. There are believed to be no precedents in New Zealand law. '