UNION OPPOSED TO NEW FREEZING WORKS FOR SOUTHLAND

Grey River Argus, 1 March 1948, Page 3

UNION OPPOSED TO NEW FREEZING WORKS FOR SOUTHLAND

Trades Council Is Not Unanimous er; ■ INVERCARGILL, Feb 28. “Though they do not often find themselves in agreement with jhe bosses, freezing workers are in full accord with what Mr John Gilkison, chairman of the Southland Frozen Meat Company, said about the establishment of another freezing works in Southland,” said Mr A. Wilson, freezing workers’ delegate, at a meeting of the Southland Trades Council on Saturday night. He expressed the opinion that the present freezing tvorks in Southland wouffi cope with all stock that was offering and, to meet the rise in production in future, additions were to be made to the three works. The position was that, if another works as allowed to start, they would have the same conditions as Australia, where the workers did not get full seasons. “If the farmers of Southland want their own freezing works,” he said, “why do not they find all of tne finance, instead of bringing in outside vested interests. We do not want to see those vested interests coming into Southland, because it will be to the detriment of the workers, just as it has been in Australia.” Mr F. Vella, representing the Bluff Waterside Workers’ Union, said that Mr Wilson was proposing to create a monopoly for the Southland Frozen Meat “Company and the Ocean Beach Works. He did not see why these big capitalist firms should be protected from competition. A motion was carried that, before any license for a new freezing works in Southland was granted, the National Council of the Freezing Workers’ Union and the Southland Branch of the union should be consulted, as the freezing workers were opposed to outside vested interests coming in. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Southland Frozen Meat Company Mr Gilkison said: “We regret mat labour shortage has caused our clients inconvenience, but such shortages tire common in every phase ot industry and the proposal to erect another works would merely result in robbing the existing industries of manpower and would reduce the average payout to all men in tins i nd ustry .’J