Charge against employer laid

Press, 7 September 1976, Page 6

Charge against employer laid

Parliamentary Reporter

The president of the Employers’ Association (Mr D. Sutcliff) has been charged by the New Zealand Printing and Related Trades Union with interference in matters before a conciliation council. This was confirmed last night by the printers’ secretary (Mr G. Ditchfield). Late last month an article appeared in the Auckland “Star” under the heading. "Employers rally to block wage rises.” It reported a statement by Mr Sutcliff that the association “would vet any emplovers’ joint approach to the Industrial Commission.” In the union journal “Imprint.” Mr Ditchfield described the article as ‘calculated to interfere with and prejudicially affect the settlement” of the printing trades employees’ dispute before a conciliation council. The union lodged a formal charge against Mr Sutcliff under the Industrial Relations Act and asked the conciliation commissioner to act. At the opening of the sec-

ond round of negotiations, the! union challenged the position of the printing employers’ advocate (Mr R. Richards) because of this charge of interference with the conciliation procedure. The conciliation commissioner has referred the complaint to the Labour Department.