Rubber Workers’ Union Settles Differences

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30316, 17 December 1963, Page 16

Rubber Workers’ Union Settles Differences

At the end of a stop-work meeting of nearly 200 rubber workers at the Empire Rubber Mills’ factory yesterday morning, an executive member of the Canterbury Rubber Workers’ Union withdrew his resignation. He had verbally volunteered his resignation earlier.

The union secretary, Mr T. Fletcher, said after tine three hours and a half meeting that he had requested the executive member to withdraw his resignation. “We washed out all our dirty linen at the meeting.” said Mr Fletcher. “It has been laundered; has come out in one piece and has been safely stowed away in the linen cupboard.” Yesterday's meeting spent the first two hours healing a breach in the ranks of 151 rubber workers at the Empire plant who last week defied a written directive of the union's executive.

The meeting was attended by a full panel of seven job delegates from the Empire plant and five executive members of the union—the secretary (Mr Fletcher), the president (Mr F. Norton) and Messrs C. Dacre, J. I. Jackson and R. Main.

The meeting carried a vote of confidence in the union president and all other executive members. Mr Fletcher said that the big thing the rubber workers had gained yesterday was complete unity once again of the workers in the factory, the job delegates and the union executive.

For the last one hour and a half of the meeting the workers, delegates and union executive discussed new company proposals, which included a new scheme for flat

rate incentives for 117 workers. “We discussed a blue-print of a proposal that had been offered by the management,” said Mr Fletcher. “Complete agreement has not yet been reached but negotiations are still in train. Representatives of the union and job delegates have not yet agreed to the proposals put forward by the management for men in both the press and extruding departments of the factory. Hopes are high for a complete settlement this week, possibly tomorrow.” Mr Fletdier presided over the meeting. The 10 members of the Canterbury Storemen’s and Packers’ Union employed at Empire yesterday unanimously decided at a meeting at the factory, to accept the proposals of the company, said the union’s secretary, Mr J. Laby. This decision was later conveyed to the company management. The acceptance, said Mr Laby, was subject to ratification by the union s executive. The secretary of the Canterbury Engineer’s Union, Mr G. Scott, said members of his union employed at the Empire plaint would probably hold a meeting before the factory resumed work after tlie Christmas break to discuss the company's proposals. No date had yet been set for the meeting. i The company’s factory manager, Mr F. W. Richardson, said the company was making good headway with the proposals it had put to the rubber workers. “There are one or two points that need clarification,” he said. “Probably tomorrow, something will be completed.”