Take-over Pay Claim Factor

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32253, 23 March 1970, Page 1

Take-over Pay Claim Factor

The proposed takeover by Feltex (N.Z.), Ltd, of Reidrubber (N.Z.), Ltd, had a strong bearing on the case of the demands of workers at the Riccarton carpet factory—a member of the Feltex group—for a 5 per cent wage increase, the secretary of the Canterbury Woollen Workers’ Union (Mr T. McGinn) said last evening.

All production at the factory, involving 547 workers, has been stopped since noon on Thursday because the management refused to negotiate with workers on their request for a wage increase. “According to the financial

news in the newspapers, the shares in Reidrubber increased 20 per cent in value upon publication of news of the takeover,” Mr McGinn said in a statement.

As the price to be paid in exchange of shares was sl6m, it would appear that the Reidrubber shareholders would divide s4m among them, he said.

“Therefore, the workers at the Riccarton Carpet factory feel that they who produce the goods should have at least a 5 per cent rise in wages when the shareholders are going to get a substantial increase in their share value. “The increase in the share value can only come from the increased production by the workers and from the consumers who pay for the goods,” Mr McGinn said. “As we cannot envisage

any decrease in prices of either carpets or tyres as a result of this merger, the Canterbury Woollen Workers’ Union feels that this merger should be investigated by the Government, in view of the continual rise in living costs coupled with the rise in share ; values.” Mr McGinn said the dis- ! trict management committee i of the union supported the i actions of the Riccarton 1 branch executive in its en- ' deavour to bargain directly i with the management on the i 5 per cent cost of living wage I increase. i

A meeting had been held yesterday between the Riccarton branch of the union, himself, and the National Secretary of the union (Mr L. B. Swan), said Mr McGinn. Mr Swan had said at the meeting that no approaches had been made by the employers

at Riccarton to meet the federation. Mr Swan had also said that he had no power to intervene in a local issue such as this without invitation from the local union. A vice-president of the Riccarton branch, Mr G. H. Mitchenson, said last evening that this had not been done. The union wanted to settle the matter locally but the company had said it would negotiate only nationally. Union officers would meet. the management at 7 a.m. today to discuss this and at 8 a.m. there would be

a meeting of union members to consider a course of action. “We want to keep this on a local basis because it is an export industry. If we drag in the whole country it could do a lot of damage to New Zealand’s exports,” said Mr Mitchenson.