Borthwicks

Its annual accounts provide some interesting information on how the parent London company views the economic scene.

"The world is currently in the position of some men playing poker and one of them (the oil exporting countries) by luck, skill or cheating has got all the chips belonging to the others and unless he will relent the game will stop."

The company also makes small but significant contributions to the British Conservative Party and a particularly obnoxious right-wing British organisation called "Aims of Industry" as well as a group called the "Economic League".

It is rather galling that NZ workers efforts should form part of a blatantly political contribution to groups whose main purpose is to suppress socialism and worker control.

However Borthwicks both at home and abroad have been looking a little sick lately.

The main cause of the downturn was the drop in world beef prices as well as the fall-off in lamb prices although the company also feels industrial relations cost them millions in strike activity. The company also attributes much of its troubles to inflation, reckoning the only practical way to abolish inflation is not ao abolish the capitalist system but rather to control the money supply which it does acknowledge as likely to push up unemployment generally, but reckoning that this is something we can apparently live with. It recognises the futility of asking workers to control wage demands when inflation is eating up their livelihood and also claims that profit and price controls are also unworkable.

While the company feels that first quarter earnings for the current term are somewhat of an improvement it acknowledges that it may have to cut back its operations. Once again workers will find themselves dangerously exposed to the viccisitudes of cut-back economics in a situation where they have little influence (overseas boardrooms are not especially noted for the tolerance of worker participation schemes).

The company has no intention of getting out of NZ and it is evident that it regards NZ as one of its best investments, particularly as the "Uncle Tom" NZ meat board will step in and buy for the companies (leaving them to sell on commission) if prices ever get too bad.