Freezing Workers Get Same Overtime Clause

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31004, 9 March 1966, Page 14

Freezing Workers Get Same Overtime Clause

The Arbitration Court had rejected a claim by freezing companies to have the overtime clause in the New Zealand freezing workers’ award extended, said the general secretary of the New Zealand Freezing Workers’ Association (Mr F. E. McNulty) in Christchurch yesterday. The present overtime clause was agreed to, be said. The court rejected a claim by the union in relation to Wellington chamber hands. The union’s claim was to revert back to the chamber hands clause that applied before the 1964 industrial agreement. This was to have the words "irrespective of rates and temperatures” removed and to accept Id an hour less. Mr McNulty said that the Court said that it saw no reason to change its previous decision to allow Wanganui to have a separate award. The

union opposed allowing Wanganui to be struck from the national award. The main gains in the award, said Mr McNulty, were provisions for knife sharpening and cleaning time and 3d an hour increase in all rates of pay. Another gain was the provision of three weeks’ holiday, after 10 years’ service. There was provision also in this clause that if any worker worked for an employer even for only part of the year, it would be counted as one year’s full service. The new award will run till June 30, 1967. Mr McNulty said that the new rates would be paid retrospective from December 20. The award in general, said Mr McNulty, was similar to the previous one, with the exception of improvements that were agreed to in conciliation. No basic changes were made.