FREEZING COSTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19240, 4 February 1937, Page 4

FREEZING COSTS

SMALL INCREASES MADE WAGES RISE PASSED ON NO ACTION AT KAITI Increases in freezing charges which have been decided on by a number ol freezing works managements throughout the North Island, m consequence oi the recent agreement under which the hourlyrate workers are to receive an additional 3d per hour, have not yet been applied to the operation of the Kaiti works iu Gisborne. The matter is understood to be under consideration by the directors of the Gisborne Refrigerating Company. Limited, but no announcement is to be made immediately as to whether the freezing, costs in Poverty Bay will be raised.

The Kaiti works was not involved in the industrial dispute which was recently settled on the. intervention pf the Minister of Labour, the Hon. H. T. Armstrong, after a short “stay-in” strike had been in progress at Auckland, Westfield iind Hamilton. The dispute arose over the hourly rates paid to men in the 'freezing works'‘ operating bn 'the chain system of killing and dressing,, this system having been'adopted in a majority of the Works throughout the North Island. Though not involved in, the trouble, however, the Kaiti freezingworks was affected by the issue of the dispute, for the rise of 3d per hour for hourly-rate men in other works also applied to those engaged on the same basis at Kaiti. HAWKE’S BAY INCREASE

In other works throughout the North Island, the increase in killing charges will apply .from February 1, and the oasis adopted by the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Meat Company, Limited, and Nelsons (N.Z.) Limited, in Hawke’s Bay lias received general approval from works managements elsewhere as being the 'best possible for passing, on jtlie net increase m operating costs resulting from the increase in wages to hourly workers.

i'he additions to the old schedule oi charges in Hawke’s Bay comprise .25d per hi. on mutton, pork, veal, and lamb, ,oou per lb. on beer, and .25cl per lb. on felling wool, the extra charges covering ireezmg, killing, and placing f.o.n. at' Napier.

The increase in the hourly rate for workers m freezing works has been made retrospective to January 1, but the companies have decided to apply the additional charges for their services only from February 1, when definite action is being taken to puss on the extra cost of operation. One Wellington operator has intimated that when the strike conference took place recently, leading up to the settlement on the basis of higher pay for the hourly workers, it was stated that some means of passing on the charges would have to be devised by the operators of freezing works, and that this was regarded by the conference as an inevitable consequence of any increase in the wage rates.