Drivers vote to strike until Monday — more promised

Press, 29 April 1978, Page 1

Drivers vote to strike until Monday — more promised

Christchurch truck drivers are on strike until Monday, and transport throughout New Zealand faces more disruption next week, as drivers take action to protest against a lack of progress in pay talks.

Christchurch drivers voted overwhelmingly for strike action after twohour meeting at the Christchurch Town Hall yesterday morning, and also backed the national 24hour drivers’ strike from midnight on May 7. A similar meeting at Dunedin yesterday voted to strike until Tuesday, and again on May 8.

About 1200 drivers who met in Wellington yesterday voted co take the rest of the day off, and to impose partial work bans without warning next week. Bans will be imposed on carting containers and trailers, and are likely to result in the drivers involved being sent home.

The Wellington Employers’ Association has advised firms to send home any drivers who do not carry out full duties. In Auckland, the Northern Drivers’ Union has decided to step up its campaign of rolling stoppages.

Stop-work meetings will be held in Nelson, Ashburton and Timaru on Monday and Tuesday, and on the West Coast on Thursday and Friday. At a separate stop-work meeting at Rangiora yesterday afternoon, rural drivers voted about 100-50 to support the national 24hour strike, but decided aeainst any other action. This will mean normal stock cartage to freezing works this week-end. For one reason or another, Christchurch bus drivers have not ioined the strike, and disciplinary action may be taken against them.

Canterbury petrol-tanker drivers were also reluctant to join the strike, but after consultations after the meeting thev agreed to comply with the decision not to return to work until Monday. The Christchurch drivers also agreed to ask the Drivers’ Federation to coordinate further national industrial action if no new offer was made by the employers after May 8. Dispensations were granted yesterday to allow fresh meat to be brought from the Christchurch abattoir to city retailers: for the delivery of material for essential road works; for the delivery of chicken feed to several poultry farms; and for the delivery of oil fuel to essential industries such as milktreatment stations and to hospitals.

Petrol will not be delivered during the weekend, but an oil-company spokesman said that service stations were not expected to run out of petrol unless there was panic buying.

There will be no dispensation for bread deliveries, but most firms say they will be little affected — at least for Monday. Local body drivers will also strike until Monday. This meant that rubbish was not collected yesterday, and rubbish dumps will be closed this weekend at Truscotts Road and Bexley. The Waitnairi County dump in Sawyers Arms Road will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rubbish not collected yesterday in Christchurch City and Waimairi will be collected on Friday next, and Riccarton and Heathcote bags not collected yesterday will be collected on Monday. The decision by Christchurch drivers to strike until Monday was taken on a show of hands, and was greeted with cheers. The drivers’ stoppage has affected four vessels at Lyttelton including the Sevillan Reefer, with Ecua-

dorean bananas destined for South Island markets. The drivers’ meeting at one stage considered giving the banana shipment, a special dispensation, but this was later quashed because drivers felt they had been misled during another stoppage last year when a similar dispensation was granted after reports that the bananas were deteriorating. Chatham Islanders are another casualty of the latest stoppage. The Holmdale was to have sailed yesterday morning but she now has to wait until Tuesday before taking on the last of her cargo. The discharge of steel from Japan and bulk sulphate of ammonia from Australia have also been disrupted. Only one vessel, the Nedlloyd Fremantle, managed to continue working because her cargo was pre-assembled at Cashin Quay. Bus drivers’ stand; Wage claim table, Page 3.