‘Drivers To Strike If Conciliation Fails’

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31092, 22 June 1966, Page 20

‘Drivers To Strike If Conciliation Fails’

More than 2600 Canterbury drivers, from the north bank of the Waitaki river to the south bank of the Clarence river, would stop work for two days if there was a further breakdown in conciliation proceedings for a new award, the union’s secretary (Mr A. S. Roberts) said yesterday.

The president of the Canterbury Trades Council (Mr R. A. Hili) addressed the meeting. Mr Roberts said city deliveries were a little delayed because of the meeting. “Unfortunately I believe a few trucks were running around the town while the meeting was on,” said Mr Roberts. “Those jokers will hold their hands out and take any pay increases.”

This had been decided by 1100 metropolitan members of the union at a stopwork meeting in the Civic Theatre yesterday. Only one member had dissented.

The Conciliation Council is scheduled to resume its hearing on July 19. Mr Roberts said any strike would be the first by the union since 1913. If the drivers struck the same exemptions would apply for essential services as were agreed to by the union for yesterday’s stopwork. Those included exemptions for local bodies, ambulances, buses and taxis, as well as trucks servicing hospitals, abattoirs and milk trucks supplying the public.

"We have four driver members in the Chatham Islands whom we have exempted,”

said Mr Roberts. "They are local body drivers and don’t come under this award/’ The date for a two-hour stopwork meeting for drivers in the Hawarden-Culverden area had now been set for 8 a.m., Thursday, July 7, in the Hawarden Hall.

Telegrams of support were received at yesterday’s meeting from the Lyttelton Waterside Workers’ Union and the Northeim Drivers’ Union. The meeting also adopted a resolution supporting the national

decision to - hold stopwork meetings.