Shops face threat of strikes

Press, 29 November 1977, Page 2

Shops face threat of strikes

Employers’ assessors will attend conciliation talks for the grocery and supermarket award on Thursday knowing that unless agreement is reached with the union on shop trading hours there could be strikes by shop assistants before Christmas. At a stop-work meeting of Christchurch shop assistants yesterday it was resolved by secret ballot “to authorise the union to call a stopwork meeting of all members to consider direct action before Christmas, if no acceptable resolution of the trading hours question is achieved at the conciliation on the grocery and supermarket award.” The secretary of the Canterbury Shop Assistants’ Union (Mr B. Alderdice) said after the meeting that the voting was 600 for and 324 against the resolution, with two informal votes. Ashburton shop assistants will meet to consider the same issue and others at 9 a.m. today, and Timaru assistants will meet at noon. The meetings have been called after the adjournment of conciliation talks in Auckland on the retail (nonfood) award. The talks on

that award have been adjourned until December 20. Christchurch assistants at their meeting yesterdayvoted by a show of hands to support the Shop Employees’ Association in its attempts to restrict the extension of trading hours, "and to gain acceptable penal payments where such extensions are in fact imposed.” They also voted to support the stand taken by the assessors over the retail (non food) award negotiations. Under the Shop Trading Hours Act shops selling goods that are not exempted are allowed to open between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday without having to seek special permission. But tire union has worked out tactics that would make it hazardous for retailers to make use of the provisions unless they first obtain the blessing of the union. In Canterbury the Retailers’ Association and the union reached agreement in September to urge retailers not to extend trading hours. However, the Retailers’ Association only recommended such action to its members — it has no power to enforce a ban.