Engineers back

Press, 18 February 1986, Page 15

Engineers back

PA Wellington The continuation of industrial action by most of New Zealand’s meat workers began to look shaky yesterday as shift engineers at the Mataura works in Southland returned to work.

However, the secretary of the Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, Mr Glenn Harris, said his members at Mataura were only going back to do work they had promised to do as part of their limited action.

He said the engineers would run only the cooling floor to keep stock previously killed frozen. Southland Frozen

Meat’s public relations officer, Ms Nancy King, said the engineers had decided to return to work after “initiatives” taken on Saturday and that stock was being brought in for a full day’s kill. Mr Harris said the engineers would not be involved in killing fresh stock and meat workers' representatives were under a misapprehension if they thought that was the case.

Killing was disrupted at three-quarters of New Zealand’s' export plants last week after the engineers took action in support of their award claims. About 20,000 meat workers are off work.