Ice broken for boilermakers

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 2

Ice broken for boilermakers

PA Wellington | Wellington boilermakers [will get recognition of trade union coverage from the ! Government within two months. This is confirmed in a letter the Minister of Labour • (Mr Gordon), sent to the Civil and Civic, Ltd. project manager on the Bank of New Zealand construction site (Mr A. McLeod). i Now that the boilermakers are back at work, the Cook Strait rail ferry Aratika is expected to be back on her run by the middle of next week, a Railways spokesman i (Mr M. Burgess), said I yesterday. When boilermakers returned to work on Monday, I after an industrial dispute, I there was an estimated nine • days of work to be done on; (the ship, which is under survey. Another ship held up by the boilermakers’ dispute, the Union Steam Ship Company’s Manama, has sailed since the return to work. Cracks in her stern door were repaired, and she left on Tuesday for Nelson. Every member of the B.N.Z. project’s work force was given by the management a copy of Mr Gordon’s (letter. It said that the following proposals had been approved by the Cabinet on • Monday: It is agreed that work on | the three jobs in dispute' resume and continue normally, and that the

i affairs of the boil-! ermakers continue to be ■ j represented by the Wei- ; lington Trades Council.; »• (Jobs referred to are! J i those on the Aratika at[ the floating dock, the freighter. Marama, and • the B.N.Z. job. all three .! having been the subject i of strikes in protest [i against the lack of reg- !; istration for the Boilermakers’ Society). :That the question of union :• coverage and/or appropriate recognition be ■ further discussed be-, ; tween the Government ,' and the Trades Council. ; Jit is agreed that the in-: tention of the GovernI meat and the Trades J Council is to settle the ’; question of recognition >j within two months. II Mr Gordon said in the let- ■ ter that he had put on record an undertaking to ' present the proposals to the ■ Cabinet on July 4. He had also recorded that ■ it had been mutually agreed ; that a return to work on the Aratika and the Marama would assist him in present- , ing to the Cabinet what was ; “still a very difficult issue.” ' “My comments to the Trades Council on the three points were that the question of union coverage t and/or appropriate recognition would be discussed as ! frequently as was necessary ' between the Government and i the Trades Couneil,” Mr Gordon said.

“I agreed that it would be the mutual intention of both [parties that the question be J settled within two months, but should there be a breakdown, or should we find ourselves facing some unfore- ! seen problems, there will be ; immediate clarification be- ■ tween us so that the position is clear to the work force concerned.” Mr Gordon denied in Parliament yesterday that he ! had directed the Registrar of !• Unions to help the deregis■l tered Wellington boilT ermakers draw up an appli- .; cation for registration as a union and new rules. > He was replying to a question by Mr J. G. Elliot ■ (Nat., Whangarei) who said that a statement to this effect was contained in a t leaflet put out by the Wel- > lington Trades Council, which is handling negotiations on the boilermakers’ case with the Government. Mr Gordon said he had seen the leaflet but described i its statement as “grossly misleading.” ; He said he had suggested to the council, that it could seek advice from the Labour Department on regulations governing union coverage and this advice had subsequently been sought. However Mr Gordon said that at no time had he spoken to the Registrar of Unions on the issue or on any other union matter.