Attack on freezing association’s stance

Press, 3 October 1983, Page 8

Attack on freezing association’s stance

PA Hamilton Improvements in the freezing industry’s industrial relations record are “long overdue,” the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) has said in Hamilton. Mr Bolger attacked the New Zealand Freezing Companies’ Association for agreeing with the principle of freedom of association, while supporting compulsory union membership.. The status quo was not sufficient in the association’s industry, he said. “Theirs is the industry

that year after year accounts for between 50 and 70 per cent of the workers involved in strikes, and between 40 and 70 per cent of working days lost, although they employ only about 2.5 per cent of the work-force.” He said freezing works were over-manned, and suffered from high absenteeism and low productivity. Mr Bolger said he did not know whether workers in the freezing industry would remain union members when membership became voluntary — but “whatever they do I am certain the

general public would agree that improvements are not only possible but long overdue.”

Unions expected to lose a significant number of members when workers were given a free choice and he asked why the union movement was not confident about its ability to persuade the overwhelming majority of workers of the value of union membership.

“No matter how we have rationalised the existing law for 50 years it is a substantial infringement of human freedom,” Mr Bolger said.