Work Resumed On West Arm Contract

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31112, 15 July 1966, Page 1

Work Resumed On West Arm Contract

(Neto Zealand Press Association) INVERCARGILL, July 14. Work on the £l5 million Manapouri underground powerhouse contract at West Arm began again at 8 o’clock tonight after a 10-day strike.

The men on the job agreed to return to work after a meeting this afternoon, attended by professional union secretaries who are charged with the responsibility of negotiating with the management over any matters in dispute on the job. No comment on the settlement was available tonight from the union men at West Arm or from the union men

who brought about the settlement The three professional union men who attended the meeting today were: Mr W. C. McDonnell, secretary of the Otago Trades Council, Mr L. B. Swan, secretary of the Can-terbury-Otago-Southland Labourers’ Union, and Mr J. A. Boomer, secretary of the Engineers’ Union. In the meantime, an official of the Utah Construction and Mining Company admitted tonight that the heaters installed in huts at West Arm were either 640 or 720 watt appliances.

He said it had been erroneously stated this morning that the heaters in the huts were of a 1000 watt output. However, the company felt that the heaters supplied were adequate for the 13-foot by 8-foot huts in which they were Installed. The strike, which began at 9 a.m. on Tuesday of last week, resulted from a dispute over the payment of dirt, height and gumboot money. Various other charges of failing to abide by the agreement covering all men on the job were levelled from time to time during the strike by the executive of the Combined Unions Association. It is expected that now that work has resumed these matters will be negotiated by Messrs McDonnell, Swan and Boomer with the management on behalf of the men at West Arm. The management said from the outset that it was only prepared to negotiate provided work was resumed and continued according to the industrial agreement. This is the second strike on the underground powerhouse contract. The last, in April this year, lasted for three days and concerned safety measures underground, which were considered by the then union executive to be inadequate.