Unionist Criticised For Announcement

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32301, 20 May 1970, Page 18

Unionist Criticised For Announcement

The secretary of the Christchurch Tramways Union (Mr N. Gray) had no authority to make any statements on the results of the national ballot among bus drivers, the national president (Mr A. Graham) said in Wellington yesterday, according to the Press Association.

“We’ll have a little chat “any news” on the national with Mr Gray,” Mr Graham vote.

He would not confirm Mr Gray’s reported claim that drivers had accepted $1.13 an hour (except in Auckland where $l.lB an hour had been previously accepted), together with 5c margins in Auckland and Wellington. Mr Graham said that even the employers had not yet been told of a decision by the union’s national executive. But Mr Gray said in Christchurch last evening that he had telephoned Mr Graham and asked him if there was

“Mr Graham said, ‘Yes, the

majority have voted in favour of the employers’ offer—sl.l3 an hour.” "1 asked him if I could ‘release* the news, and he replied, ‘Yes, the vote is official,’ ” Mr Gray said. Mr Gray said that all he wished to add was that, contrary to some reports, he had not said that the bus drivers’ dispute was settled. All he had said was that the national ballot had resulted in favour of the employers’ offer—“and that was official.”