Carpenters Leave St. Helens Job

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30152, 8 June 1963, Page 10

Carpenters Leave St. Helens Job

Twenty-two carpenters walked off the St. Helens Hospital extensions contract yesterday afternoon, and the job was later declared black.

In a statement last evening, the secretary of the Canterbury Carpenters, Bricklayers and Related Trades Union (Mr F. L. Langley) said:— “After a lunch-hour meeting this afternoon, carpenters employed on the contract of John Calder. Ltd., for extensions to the St. Helens Hos-

■ pital, resolved to ban labour- > ing work, which includes , tying steel. I "When work was resumed, the project manager stood down a number of carpenters . tor refusing this work, with s the result that all the car- [ penters walked off the job “At a meeting of the men . concerned, held later in the Trades Hall, it was resolved by secret ballot to declare the St. Helens contract black until further notice from the union. , “It was also decided to ask ’ the local district council of > the Federation of Labour to I call a special meeting to support their action 5 “This meeting will be held at the Trades Hall on Thursday evening, and officials of unions likely to be affected I by the dispute will be in1 vlted to attend." I Mr M. F. Miles, general > manager of John Calder, Ltd.. f said last evening that he had > no comment to make except I that the dispute was in the ! hands of the Labour Depart- ! ment ! The district superintendent ! of the department (Mr C. P I Collins) said that inquiries > were being made to find the > facts of the case. "We have had a statement f from the Canterbury Master Builders’ Association. A state- ) ment has been promised by ! the union, but we have not yet received it," he said. 1 The banning of labouring work by carpenters on sev1 era) jobs in Christchurch was a sequel to the union's de- . mand for an increase in 1 wages. The union claims that I North Island carpenters are ( paid higher rates than those in Canterbury.