FREEZING RATES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19241, 5 February 1937, Page 6

FREEZING RATES

INCREASE IN COSTS

TUT Al, OF ECONOMIES

TITR EE -DAY KIELI NO WE EK

If farmers of the Poverty Bay district. can be induced to co-operate with the Gisborne Refrigerating Company, Limited, in restricting the handling of stock at the Kaiti works to three days per week; the management of the works hopes to be able to avoid passing on any of the additional operating costs laid upon the freezing industry generally by the recent rise in the rale of lionrlv workers.

This statement was made to-day in answer to a further inquiry by; a pressman as to the policy the management of the Kaiti works would follow in relation to the wage increase.- In other parts of the North Island the increase in freezing costs occasioned by the raising of the hourly rate has been added to the charges, but the Gisborne Refrigerating Company’s directors are loath to advance the charges at their works, at least until an effort has been made to effect further economies in operation.

It would be possible to handle the average week’s killings at the works in three days, according to the experience of the present season, and if the stock-owners of the district will fall in with the suggestion that bookings be concentrated upon three days out of seven, the management will avoid costs which are involved if a fourt! day is broken into at the works. It is not anticipated that, the earnings of the freezing workers will be aif octet, materially, but the aggregate saving to the works management will go a good way towards off-setting the latest increase in labour costs.

“No increase in the killing charges as far as Hamilton is concerned is expected.” said Air. W. It. Shattock, president of the South Auckland Master Butchers’ Association, when referring to the increased costs involved by the raising of the rates of pay to freezing works’ employees. The abattoir work for the Hamilton butchers is carried out at the Ilorotiu freezing works, Air. Shattock said that the Hamilton butchers felt that the killing charges bad long been too high. It was possible that an effort would be made to increase the present rates, hut such an effort would be strongly -contested.