54 watersiders at Lyttelton redundant

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33446, 30 January 1974, Page 1

54 watersiders at Lyttelton redundant

(New Zealand Press Association?

WELLINGTON, January 29.

Negotiations are under way to declare 171 watersiders redundant at three New Zealand ports, 54 of these at Lyttelton. Individual watersiders may get up to $6OOO in redundancy pay, excluding other payments from group endowment and modernisation funds which might boost their “golden handshake” to more than $ll,OOO.

Payments will depend on age and length of service. But the cutback in the labour force at the three ports concerned — Wellington, New Plymouth, and Lyttelton — will permanently reduce the wharf-handling bill by hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

However, the redundances will be voluntary and individuals will be given the option of going to another port where work is available. It is believed that at the moment the only port with openings for watersiders is Auckland. Ironically, moves to cut the labour strength at Wellington by 97 to 1050 men, come at a time when the port is congested with shipping, partly as a result of labour shortages. For several years, no casual labour has been allowed on the Wellington wharves because of the re-

dundancy threat to union members. But shipping spokesmen say that moderate seasonal delays to shipping are preferable to maintaining a labour force on idle-time pay throughout most of the year. It is not unusual during the off-season in Wellington for 100 watersiders to be sent home each day. It is proposed that the registered strength of watersiders at Lyttelton should be cut by 54 to 630, and at New Plymouth by 20 to 298. The watersiders remaining will most probably benefit to some extent from the increased availability of daily work and overtime. The latest statistics available show that in 1972 the Waterfront Industry Commission paid out in guaranteed and idle-time payments, an average of $14.33 a week to each watersider in Wellington, $17.27 in New Plymouth and $12.97 in Lyttelton.

The official lay-off proposals made by agreement between the Waterside Wor-

was led sadly away to have his own chest taped. Later, after being cut from his super sack —which was found to contain a Latvian wedding party, two signed photographs of Duke Ellington umpiring a Polaroid match, and a gold-plated sandwich from the domain restaurant —the Guru of North Canterbury announced his retirement from competitive farming. “I have always been interested in promoting evening entertainment in Waipara,” he said.

kers’ Federation and the Port Employers’ Association foli low the signing of the wharf redundancy agreement seven months ago. The parties have applied to the Waterfront Industry Tribunal which will make the redundancy order.