Slav. Tunneller Dismissed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31226, 25 November 1966, Page 18

Slav. Tunneller Dismissed

A stop-work meeting of 400 workers at West Arm on Wednesday decided not to take any action over a Jugoslav' tunneller who was dismissed and will return to Jugoslavia. The tunneller is Mr I. Amic, of Croatia.

He is the first Jugoslav out of 110 at West Arm to be dismissed and sent home. Union leaders said that he was dismissed at the site bej cause he left a shift in the tunnel an hour and a half before the shift was due to finish.

Union leaders say that Mr Amic was ‘ unable to speak English and did not understand the implications of his action.

All the Jugoslavs employed at West Arm are on £5OO bonds of good behaviour and were employed under a binding contract with very stringent conditions for behaviour. The dismissal of the Jugoslav is reported to have caused disruption among the 550 workers at West Arm. The whole executive of the Combined Unions’ job committee at the West Arm underground powerhouse contract was deposed at a secret ballot at a stop-work meeting on Wednesday. The paid fulltime union secretary on the job, Mr D. Von Sturmer, was also voted out. It was decided to advertise for a secretary. More than 400 workers, not on essential duty are believed to have voted in a close ballot. Two of the 11 deposed executive members agreed to stand and were re-elected.

In a telephone interview on Wednesday afternoon an official of the Jugoslav Consul-

ate in Wellington (Mr V. Loncar) said that Mr Amic was in Wellington and in constant touch with the consulate.

He said he thought Mr Amic would pay his own fare back to Jugoslavia. He was not sure how the £5OO bond worked.