Govt will not recognise boilermakers

Press, 5 December 1978, Page 2

Govt will not recognise boilermakers

PA Wellington I 1 The Government had no ; intention of recognising or negotiating with Wellington boilermakers calling them- i selves the Wellington Boil-1 ermakers’ Union, said the; Minister of Labour (Mr Gordon) and the Minister of Works and Development (Mr W. L. Young) yesterday. "The Wellington Boil- 1 ermakers’ Union was dere-| gistered in September, 1976. after a sorry history of industrial disputes." said the Ministers, in a joint state-i rnent. "Since then, those who claim to represent this group have formed an incorporated society which has ; not been recognised by the Government or employer organisations. “This group has continued with its disruptive tactics, and the serious delays to the completion of the third Wellington Harbour container crane is a typical example of the industrial and economic damage which it is 1 prepared to do to achieve its own ends," they said. Messrs Gordon and Young said that the Cabinet had yesterday affirmed its earlier decision that the Wellington

boilermakers would not be registered or recognised in any form. “Indeed, as late as July 7 this year, the Opposition, spokesman on labour and} former Minister of Labour' (Mr A. J. Faulkner) was re-; ! ported as saying that a: Labour government would I not reregister a boil- j ermakers’ union,” their; statement said. ■ “The Government’s posi-i tion with regard to tenders, for its own works, for' ; example the National Libirary building and the new Chief Post Office, is quite clear. Tenders for contracts' will not be accepted if that; acceptance involves recogni-i , tion of the Boilermakers’ Union or Boilermakers’ Society "While this may have a serious effect on the opportunities for other work-. ; ers in the engineering and; construction fields, it is time ; for the union movement itself to assess realistically' where it is being led.” .Messrs Gordon and Young said. Mr Gordon has said several times in the past that the deregistered boil-; ermakers could join the Engineers’ Union if they wanted.