Second freezing worker risks union expulsion

Press, 18 December 1982, Page 1

Second freezing worker risks union expulsion

Another Canterbury freezing worker may be expelled from the Meat Workers' Union and risks the loss of his job because he refuses to pay the $lO a week levy to support Islington freezing workers. An Ashburton man in his 50s lost his job at the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company's Fairton works last week after being expelled from the union. Now the Canterbury branch executive of- the union will consider whether to expel Mr Cyril Curtis, who works as a nightwatchman at the C.F.M. Pareora works. He is aged 50 and has been a nightwatchman for six years.

Before that he was a miner. Mr Curtis said that he objected to the levy because it was compulsory. He said that the Pareora board of control (sub-branch union management) had at first voted against referring the case to the branch executive, which has the power to expel, but eventually the chairman had used his casting vote to make it eight votes against seven. He said he was firm in his belief that he had a right to choose whether to give away his money, and it was “up to the union” whether he lost his job. Mr Curtis said that he had

been told the branch executive would consider his case in the New Year and he had been told if he was expelled he would have the chance of getting back his membership if he paid the levy. The secretary of the Canterbury branch, Mr W. R. Cameron, said yesterday that persons who refused to abide by democratic decisions would have to stand the risk of losing their membership. “Ninety-nine per cent are putting in to support the workers at Islington and we cannot tolerate the one or two who refuse,” he said. Mr Cameron said that he was at Pareora when the

vote was taken last week, and of the 800 or more workers at the meeting, only two voted against the decision to pay the levy. Sources close to the industry say that some freezing workers are disgruntled at having to pay the levy when they have had no vote on it. It was said that when ballots were held at. some Canterbury works only orte chain ■was in use, and that because of seniority customs, those chains were manned by workers more sympathetic to the levy than the workers who joined later chains. Mr Cameron said that there “might be some truth” in the allegation.