Workers To Ignore Medical Clause

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30957, 13 January 1966, Page 3

Workers To Ignore Medical Clause

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, January 12. The Auckland Freezing Workers’ Union will temporarily disregard a new health regulation introduced by the Department of Agriculture at the insistence of West Germany and some other Common Market countries.

The regulation says that freezing workers handling meat for export must | undergo a medical examination once a year.

It is believed that unless the regulation is enforced soon meat exports to West Germany and the Netherlands could temporarily be affected. The secretary of the Auckland union, Mr T. P. Kelly, said today that his union, which had been prepared to enforce the regulation as from tomorrow, had refused when told of new terms demanded by the secretary of the New Zealand Freezing Companies’ Association, Mr J. B. Walton, on other clauses in a new freezing workers' award. • The terms concerned the application of a new holiday award from two to three weeks agreed in conciliation

on December 6, Mr Kelly said. The union had expected this clause to become effective on December 20, the same day as a wage increase. “Mr Walton, however, has told us his association will not accept the clause until it has been approved by the Arbitration Court. “In that ease the union would also refuse to accept what was agreed to in conciliation until it was approved by the Court. And that could be as late as I March.” Mr Kelly said. j Morally, both sides should [ implement the agreement on >a suitable date, he said. But ] if one party disagreed on cer- ! tain terms, the other would also disagree. “For that reaj son we have refused to eni force the new medical reguI lation at this stage.”