Tankers held up again

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33253, 16 June 1973, Page 16

Tankers held up again

(Xew Zealand Pres* Association' WELLINGTON, June 15. Cooks and stewards are again holding up coastal oil tankers. The Ilaniilton was tied up in Auckland tonight, and the Athelviscount and Erne were expected to be affected at Timaru and New Plymouth respectively.

Fuel shortages developed recently after a rash of industrial disputes on the tankers and a two-week close down of the Marsden Point oil refinery earlier this year. One oil industry source said tonight that oil stocks were not yet completely back to normal. The action by the Cooks’ and Stewards’ Union has been taken in spite of a directive to return to work from the Shipping Industry Tribunal last month after a twoweek stoppage. The national secretary’ of the union (Mr J. Ramsay) said tonight that the union was “reluctantly compelled to take-action on the matter of the tankers.” The employers had pre-

varicated and used delaying tactics to deny the unior justice, he alleged. The Cooks’ and Stewards Union is seeking higher pay Union representatives lasi week met the Minister of Transport (Sir Basil Arthur’ and the Minister of Labour (Mr Watt) about the dispute Mr Ramsay said tonight that the union regretted the situation, for which he blamed the employers. Representatives of the oil companies and the Union Steam Ship Company, which runs the ships, would not comment tonight.