Load-oot ban may lead to suspensions

Press, 10 November 1988, Page 7

Load-oot ban may lead to suspensions

PA Nelson Skeggs Foods executives say they may have to suspend 150 Nelson processing staff in the wake of a load-out ban by packaging staff at Nelson Fibre Containers. Staff at the Saxtons Road factory began the ban on November 2 in protest about the breakdown in the Printing and Related Trades Union packaging award talks. Since then four pallets of cartons were released to Sealord Products, Ltd, a subsidiary of Carter Holt Harvey, principal shareholder in Printpac which owns Nelson Fibre Containers. Skeggs and Talley’s Fisheries, which are both running short of cartons for export fish products,

have called the partial lifting of the load-out ban as favouritism to Sealord. Skeggs’ branch manager, Mr Allan Bryant, said yesterday the company would run out of cartons by the end of the week, and would have to consider suspending 150 processing staff and some downstream workers. "We will have to look at tying up fishing vessels if it goes on much further,” he said. “There is not a lot we can do about it. It is beyond our control.” The Printers’ Union Nelson president and Fibre Containers employee, Mr Phil Leslie, said yesterday he regretted the threat of suspensions in other industries because of the load-out ban. “But it can’t be helped,”

he said. “Our employers would not enter into negotiations unless we are prepared to accept a 2 per cent offer and flexibility of hours. They want to remove overtime and penal rates.” That was unacceptable to the union as up to 80 per cent of wages were made up of overtime and workers could lose $BO to $lOO a week. The ban would remain in force until the management went to the employers’ representatives and said, “This is how much it is affecting industry in Nelson,” said Mr Leslie. He said the four pallets of cartons had been released to Sealord as a good-will gesture to get employers to agree to informal talks in Auckland.