Bus-drivers’ union rebuked by Minister

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33816, 12 April 1975, Page 16

Bus-drivers’ union rebuked by Minister

f.Veu/ Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 11. The Acting Minister of Labour (Sir Basil Arthur) sent a sharply-worded telegram today to the New Zealand Tramways Union whose members stopped w’ork today in Wellington and Invercargill. The sendees will resume tomorrow.

In a telegram to the union secretary (Mr G. O. Turner) Sir Basil said he “took strong exception to the union members’ action.”

Sir Basil added: “The serious inconvenience to the public through such actions is completely unjustified when the nature of the matters in dispute is examined.

“The 14 days notice _ required under Section 125 of the Industrial Relations Act has been completely ignored,” said the Minister. “There are adequate procedures available to deal with the issues involved and I now request that you instruct your members to continue working in future pending further negotiations which I understand are proposed for next week," he said. When Wellington drivers heard of the statement it “negated strong attempts for: a return to work here” after bus services stopped at 9 a.m.

The Auckland branch ot the 2000-member union has! offered financial support for] the Invercargill drivers, and] all other branches throughout the country will meet to assess the situation at the week-end. Mr Turner said Invercargill drivers would also resume normal duties tomorrow, and any further combined action with Wellington would be suspended pending the outcome of a meeting between the union and the Public Passenger Transport Authorities Association on Tuesday. REVENUE LOSS About 40.000 people in the capital were affected by the stopwork. and loss of revenue to Wellington City Council was estimated to be about $7OOO. Shoppers and workers had; to either walk or arrange taxi i or private transport to theirj homes or other destinations.

Wellington buses resume normal services tomorrow after today’s stopwork linked with dissatisfaction over nonunion labour in Invercargill, shift hours, and holidays. During a five-hour meeting bus drivers decided against returning to work in the afternoon after receiving reI ports from the union’s Invercargill branch. SUPPORT Mr Turner said tonight Wellington drivers were determined to give moral and active support to the Invercargill branch throughout its dispute. He said Invercargill drivers had been angered by news media reports of a city councillor there blaming the union for today’s situation. A Ministry of Transport spokesman said traffic congestion was much heavier

than normal in Wellington during the day, and the central city was choked with private vehicles between the 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. peak hours. And according to the president of the Lambton Quay Businessmen’s Association (Mr P. B. Olesen) city business interests were “fed up” with bus stoppages. The last bus strike on a Friday had resulted in a 20 per cent drop in citv business. SCHOOL SERVICES Wellington Education Board authorities took early action to avert inconvenience to schoolchildren by alternative arrangements with its major contract bus services.

The board’s secretary manager (Mr F. W. Alpe), said he expected only a few children to be put out by the stopwork.