FREEZING INDUSTRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 477, 5 October 1928, Page 12

FREEZING INDUSTRY

NEW AWARD WANTED MOVE BY EMPLOYERS Interesting sidelights on the freezing industry throughout New Zealand were explained in the Arbitration Court yesterday afternoon, when the employers asked for a Dominion award. Mr. Justice Frazer presided, and associated with him were Messrs. A. Monteith and G. T. Booth, employees and employers’ assessors respectively. When the parties came before the court yesterday morning, they brought a large number of points for settlement. Mr. Justice Frazer expressed regret that so many issues had to be dealt with, and at his request the parties withdrew for a conference. In the afternoon it was announced that many points had been settled, llis Honour complimented the. parties on their success, stating that agreement by conference was more satisfactory both to the court and to the parties. EMPLOYERS* CASE Representing the employers, Mr. E. V. Sanderson said they asked lor a renewal of the old award with four minor variations. They desired the clause regulating overtime of men conveyed to the works by fra in to be amended so as to apply to all forms of transport. They desired watchmen to be exempted from the award, and the duties of slaughtermen in dealing with “bobby” calves to be clearly defined. They asked that foremen, shepherds, boardwalkers, permanent graders, watchmen, and other officials should be exempted from the award, a leading hand not to be deemed an official. Alfred Suter. superintendent of the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Company’s W'orks, said that 90,000 “bobby” calves had—been killed this season at his works. Cross-examined by Mr. W. E. Sill, representing the employees, witness said the “bobby” calf industry was not a payable proposition last yeaj*. That was why rates for boning had been reduced from sevenpence to sixpence. It was desired to bring boners into line with slaughtermen. That a good slaughtermen’s gang earns 27s 4d a day each, and a slower 245, was shown by Alfred Nathaniel Williams, manager of the Patea Farmers’ Freezing Company. He considered stunning should be part of a slaughterman’s work. He was only a layman, but he could knock down 60 calves a minute. VIEWS OF WORKERS Opening for the employees, Mr. Sill raised the question of ram lambs. He said these were coming into the various works in increasingly larger numbers. They caused a great deal of trouble. Slaughtermen should be given higher wages for the extra work involved in killing and dressing. He claimed that the “babtfc r ” veal industry had passed out of the experimental stage, and could stand higher rates. He asked that the rates be increased from sixpence to tenpence for calves up to 501 b, and one shilling for calves up to 701 b. During the 1926-27 season a total

of 115,000 of these calves* was slaugiv tered. The total this year during th« one month of August was 177.000. and by the end of thd season it was probable that the increase on last year’s total would be more than 100 per cent. Whereas 3s or 4s used to be given f«ry calves, farmers now' obtained 10s of even more. If the freezing companies could pay such prices, the industry certainly was a paying one. Mr. Sill said that “bobby” calve* were originally understood to be calveft one day old. Now they were often 10 days old. He suggested that classification should be by weight. In view of the disagreeable nature of the work of freezing workers, he said that no overtime should be less than time and a-half. For chamber hands it should be double time. The minimum wage should be £4 a week. Mr. Sill called evidence to show that wages for a season for some men sometimes averaged £3 5s 9*d and £% 17s 2ld. One man was put off IS times, sometimes twice a week. This was a common experience. Mr. Sanderson pointed out that tbo union was asking double rates, or 75s a hundred for ram lambs, as against 40s for ordinary heavy sheep. Everything was being done to reduce the number of ram lambs being sent in for slaughter. The employers earnestly desired that the award should expire on June 30, and that its term should be two years. Air. Sill asked that the award should expire in October, as being more suiL. able to the union, and that it shoulf be for 12 months only. The case then closed.