FREEZERS GO SLOW

Grey River Argus, 16 March 1945, Page 4

FREEZERS GO SLOW

CONTINUED. IN CANTERBURY. P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, March 15. The rate of killing at the Kaiapoi Freezing Works was reduced to one third of normal this afternoon, and at another Canterbury works “go slow’’ continued, with killings reduced to two-thirds. There has been no Government action in the matter so far. In a statement to-day, the Secretary of the Union (Mr Kilpatrick) said there was no guarantee that the minimum weekly wage in essential industries would be increased after the standard wage pronouncement of the Court of Arbitration, although workers expected that it would be; and there was no guarantee that, if it were increased, the rise would be made retrospective in the freezing industry;. Some firm assurance on this point, would help to meet the position of the lower-paid men in Canterbury.

Replying to a statement made byMr C. G, Wilkin (Secretary of the South Island Freezing Companies’ Association), Mr Kilpatrick said that the unfortunate position of the lower-paid workers in Canterbury,, as the result of the bad season, had been placed before the Government som e weeks ago. The impression that the lowerpaid workers in the freezing industry in Canterbury had been for some weeks on a' £5 10s guaranteed minimum (£4 16s 3d net) was not correct. The freezing companies’ spokesman was following a time-honoured practice of “building up” average earnings by including the earnings of higher-paid piece workers, who would benefit more from a percentage increase in award rates which had been agreed on than would the lower-paid workers, most, of whom would not benefit at all if things remained as they were.