Storemen try again

Press, 15 November 1977, Page 6

Storemen try again

Members of the Canterbury Storemen and Packers’ Union will attend a special meeting in Christchurch on I hursday to vote on a motion that the union withdraw from the Storemen and Packers’ Federation. It is the union's third attempt to break away. The union’s executive voted in April last year to withdraw and held a special meeting in •lune to consider the recommendation. It was defeated by 29 votes to 18. The executive decided that this was a poor representation, so it held a secret ballot in December last year, at which members voted by 552 to 143 to withdraw. But according to the rules of the federation, such a decision has to be made by a special meeting, so the executive has called the meeting for this week. The executive decided last month to call the meeting.

i The federation’s secretary I (Mr P. J. Mansor) said at the I time he was not surprised, and would accept a decision made in accordance with the I rules. Affiliation fees would have to be paid up to the (time of legal disaffiliation. The union’s secretary (Mr iP. Piesse) said yesterday that ! withdrawal was the expressed ■ wish of the majority of the .members, and was in their interests. The federation had • not served the union well. In an article in the union i ; magazine “Pallet,” Mr Piesse I said that there had been aj I long period of dissatisfaction I I over lack of service from the; i federation. ! Mr Piesse said he would i inot rule out the possibility of the union’s joining a re-1 formed federation at some Hater date. The union at present did not have voting : rights commensurate with membership numbers, but if the rules were rewritten to change this, the union was

(Prepared to consider rejoin- ; i ing. He did not know what would happen to the federation if Canterbury withdrew. The Northern union was already separate. Canterbury would share some awards with both the federation and the Northern union.