Meat works warn of suspensions

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 3

Meat works warn of suspensions

The Meat Industry Association announced yesterday that it would suspend refrigeration workers if they took threatened industrial action over a pay rise from midnight tomorrow. , The association’s executive director, Mr Peter Blomfield, said in Wellington that the engineers’ demand for a 20 per cent wage rise put more pressure on the meat industry. It was already facing significant wage rise demands from meat workers and tradesmen in the industry, he said.

"We are not prepared to agree to the demands of the shift engineers,” he said. "Any of them who take part in the planned

industrial action will be suspended.” The 140 refrigeration engineers, who are members of the Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, have given meat companies notice that they will • turn off the cooling systems to storerooms for fresh carcases. This would effectively stop all chains, although they have agreed to maintain systems for cool stores that are already full. The Institute members are employed in 32 of 38 meat works while the other six works are semiautomated. ■' ** •■■■ ’ ‘ ; ; At these Six works the association wanted engineers to accept a wage freeze, said the institute’s secretary, Mr Glenn

Harris, yesterday. The institute would not accept a wage freeze or possible wage reductions for some of its members, he said. This was the issue which the institute walked out of national award negotiations in Wellington on Wednesday, he said. The association wanted reduced wages for engineers at the semi-auto-mated plants who were not required to work regularly at nights and week-ends, Mr Harris said. “But the engineer who works in a semi-auto-mated plant is required to sit, r at home next to the telephone for- up to 72 hours a week in case he is’ needed,” he said. "Engineers on call should be paid the same as those working full shifts.”