Offer Of Talks Rejected

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32396, 8 September 1970, Page 1

Offer Of Talks Rejected

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, September 7. The Post Office dispute is deadlocked and could become a full-scale stoppage by the end of the week.

The Post Office Association’s secretary (Mr I. E. Reddish) said tonight that association officials had spent most of today trying to restrain members from taking more direct action than the go-slow introduced at midnight yesterday.

Mr Reddish said an offer was made tonight by the association to meet the Cabinet Committee on Government Administration tomorrow for exploratory talks: but this had been rejected by the Prime Minister. Sir Keith Holyoake had said that the Government would not negotiate until the association called off the go-slow, Mr Reddish said.

This meant t hat the go-slow would continue tomorrow, and also that the association was being given a lesser chance of being able to compromise. The prospect of holding members to the limited action taken so far was also being reduced, he said. The Government had been given a fortnight to enter meaningful negotiations, and the go-slow could not and would not, be called off until

a firm commitment on such negotiations had been entered into, Mr Reddish said. Reports he had received indicated that it would take Post Office workers one week to clear the backlog created by today’s reduction in working pace. The effects of the go-slow tomorrow should be even more widespread than those created today, and could cause an even greater backlog he said. The basis of the dispute is the demand by the Post Office Association for a new salary scale for clerical and associated workers after recent increases granted to tradesmen. Mr Reddish said the association was seeking an increase of 16.4 per cent for clerical workers at the supervisory level, but the Government had offered only 3.2 per cent.