Govt stands firm on wages policy

Press, 13 August 1976, Page 4

Govt stands firm on wages policy

PA Wellington The Government would not change its wages policy’ in the face of rising union unrest, said the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) vesterdav.

National Party members of Parliament were solidly behind the Government’s stand, and no change would be made to the Wage Regulations, Mr Muldoon said, after a meeting of the Government caucus.

Mr Muldoon said he had no objection to a test case going to the Industrial Commission, hut doubted if any of the claims now being negotiated w-Are suitable. But the Government was not going to amend the regulations to I facilitate the bringing of a’ test case. Mr Muldoons statement: was made against a background of increasing anger by Drivers’ Union members; at the lack of progress in their wage talks. Wellington and Levin drivers have stopped hauling' trailers and carting containers. Masterton, Nelson, Bien-; heim, Gisborne, and Christ- : church drivers have made a! similar decision and will adopt similar action soon. '

Drivers in other centres will meet over the next day or two to consider similar action.

Although strike action at some time has not been ruled out, the drivers will in the meantime confine their action to these two restrictions.

Wage-earners had recently had a ‘‘very big" increase of $7 a week, and lower-paid workers would get a further $6 as announced in the Budget, said Mr Muldoon. Very few people were on low wage scales. It was "grossly misleading’’ for the Drivers’ Union to assert that many of its; members were on the samei level as the Unemployment |

i Benefit. The take-home pay of driver' was much higher than the benefit. Mr Muldoon said that employers were prepared to back the Government’s stabilisation policy, and the great body of trade-union opinion also realised the need to control inflation. Union leaders knew it was i their people who would suffer rising unemployment. The i Government was not prepared to back oft at all, he I said. ; Mr Muldoon said he hoped (there w’ould be no confrontation with the trade unions. 'Such a clash would "not 'help anyone” and would ■ damage the economy very (greatly. The only possible benefit , I would be to the egos of somej I militant trade-union leaders, (he said. The Government had been quite open with both the emIployers and the Federation ’of Labour, Mr Muldoon said. .There was a possibility that 'a further wage order could ibe brought down after the third - quarter Consumer i Price Index had been published, but wage-earners had alreadv had a big increase after the last quarter. No urgent legislation had been considered to meet the (threat of industrial action, |he said. Asked if he was surprised by the attitude of the unions, he said: “I’m surprised by very little these days.”

The New Zealand Drivers’ Federation has delayed an announcement on future action until early next week, apparently to give national negotiators time to broach a solution to the deadlock, which would thus make a 'strike unnecessary. The Northern Drivers’ Union yesterday planned a meeting of its city delegates for Monday, and a meeting

of all drivers for August 23. In the interim, Refrigerated Freight Lines, Ltd drivers would not tow trailers, a union spokesman said. The likely effect was almost double the transport costs to the company, and a freight backlog if the action continued. No drivers other than those employed by Refrigerated Freight Lines were involved in the action in Auckland yesterday. i Shell Oil (New Zealand), tanker drivers imposed a restriction on the drivers’ long-haul roster in another Drivers’ Union dispute. The effects of the action are likely to be cumulative, over a senes of weeks, to a stage where fuel reserves dwindle in provincial depots.

Parliamentary sources indicated last evening that an announcement aimed at easing the tense situation might be made tomorrow. They considered the announcement could pave the way for a joint employers’-unidn application to the Industrial Commission on “exceptional circumstances.”

This would bring an opinion from the commission on just what it believed constituted an “exceptional circumstance.”

This would serve as a guideline for other awards deadlocked over the problem. The transport industry has been the first to feel the effects of the latest round of breakdowns in award talks. But industry and aircraft face disruption within two weeks unless the Engineers’ Union can make progress in its wage demands for engineers covered by the Metal Trades Award.

The union has given engineering employers 14 days to make “realistic offers” before it calls mass stop-work meetings.