Ships back to normal after dispute spirals

Press, 14 December 1977, Page 6

Ships back to normal after dispute spirals

Seamen will return to work today after bringing virtually all New Zealand shipping to a standstill yesterday in a dispute about award negotiations. The Seamen’s Union’s South Island secretary (Mr T. B. Stuart) said that agreement had been reached with the Maritime Employers’ Association to resume talks in Wellington today, and to resume normal work on New Zealand-manned ships. The union’s protest, against the lack of progress in the award talks, appeared to spiral dramatically yesterday —after a week of selective .stoppages on various ships in New Zealand ports. By yesterday morning almost the entire fleets of the Union Steam Ship Company, Ltd, and Shipping Corporation of New Zealand had been brought to a standstill. Both sides will meet at 11 a.m. today—the first meeting since talks stalled last Wednesday. At that time the employers offered seamen pay’ increases of a minimum 8 per cent, with larger rises for handling certain types of cargo and to adjust some job relativities. The union had sought a 12

| per cent increase. but i lowered this to an undisclosed figure. ; At Lyttelton, seamen in the i Union Hobart and Ngahere withdrew their labour at 8 a.m.. after giving a special dispensation to the Union Melbourne and Holmdaie to sail the previous evening. However, the Union Hobart was allowed to discharge a cargo of perishable Austra- | lian oranges before the stopI page. At Auckland, it is believed : about eight Union Company ! ships were held up, as was ' the Union Rotoiti in Australia. Seamen also put a freight ban on the Cook Strait rail i ferries. Only passengers and ; passenger-accompanied cars I were allowed to be handled. ! The rail ferry Arahanga was held up at Wellington although the Aratika sailed carrying passengers and cars only. The Railways had iust finished clearing up a back- : log of cargo created by a I similar stoppage last week. I Railway officials in Christ- , church put a ban on accept- ■ ing any perishable goods for I the north while the stoppage ’lasted.