Dispute At Carpet Factory Unsolved

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30741, 4 May 1965, Page 1

Dispute At Carpet Factory Unsolved

The industrial dispute at the Riccarton factory of the Carpet Manufacturing Company N.Z., Ltd., remained unsolved yesterday after meetings between management and union leaders that lasted most of the day.

All late shift workers returned to work after a stopwork meeting at 4 p.m. attended by about 450 woollen workers.

An effort was being made to arrange a further meeting for today between the management and union leaders to settle differences on shifts, said the company’s manager (Mr D. R. Hinsdon). “We are examining various alternatives which have been suggested by both sides,” said Mr Hindson. “It is still open for discussion and negotiation.” The dispute, he said, was over shift work pay. The management, he said, wanted a portion of one department to work three shifts because of the flow of work. The workers did not want this. In changing from two shifts to three shifts, in terms of the award, they would receive half an hour ordinary pay less a day. “This is the point at issue,” said Mr Hindson. “They don’t want to lose that half hour pay a day.” The management, he said, was doing its best to find a way, within terms of the award to overcome the problem.

Mr Hindson said that the union had agreed to work shifts as requested in the

meantime. Until a settlement had been reached these workers would be paid eight and a half hours for an eighthour shift. “This is not in accordance with the award,” said Mr Hindson. “There is no provision for it.”

At the finish of yesterday's stop-work meeting, most workers recommenced work fairly close to normal starting times, those on threeshift work starting only a little late.

The personnel manager of Felt and Textiles of N.Z. Ltd., Mr F. 'W. N. Ransom of Wellington, attended yesterday’s meetings.