Silver Fern breached collective deal

Silver Fern Farms has been told by the Employment Relations Authority to stop using supervisors for processing meat on slow days.

Silver Fern Farms is reviewing its employment procedures after the Employment Relations Authority found it was breaching a collective agreement by using supervisors to process meat.

Max McGregor, the New Zealand Meat Workers Union's plant secretary who has worked at the Pacific Plant for about 23 years , said supervisors were doing "rework".

Rework was when work had to be repeated because it was not to the required standard, such as when cuts of meat were not performed correctly or had been contaminated.

"This is different to processing work which is paid on a part-hourly and a part-piece-rate basis," he said.

The collective agreement in force states: "Supervisory staff may perform the work covered by this agreement to assist with first aid and accidents, redeployment of staff, processing line changes, training, and temporary absences."

Plant manager Sean O'Neill said the clause only related to "kill days", not short processing weeks.

"But it does not make commercial sense to call out staff to work for say two hours and have to pay the four-hour minimum when supervisors already at work doing other things can carry out the work," he said.

In his determination, Michael Loftus said a commercial decision could not be made if it contravened "an express contractual provision".

Because a rework rate was in the collective agreement, it "actually confirms it is work covered by the collective".

"Finally, I agree with the submission that, while business common sense may assist with contractual interpretation, it cannot be used to override a clear provision."

Silver Fern Farms communications manager Justin Courtney said the matter was only pertaining to the Whakatu plant. "We are reviewing our practices and implications," he said.

Silver Fern Farms has three Hawke's Bay plants: Wairoa, Whakatu, and Takapau, which employs 1000 people at the height of the season.