Labourers’ pay dispute settled

Press, 21 December 1978, Page 12

Labourers’ pay dispute settled

PA Dunedin. A final settlement has been made in the Dunedin City Council labourers’ pay dispute.

The Arbitration Court has awarded the labourers a flat $2 a week increase above the increase offered by the council.

The settlement is a 13.8 per cent increase on existing wages compared with the 11.73 per cent offered by the City Council. However, it was a long wasy from the 25 per cent increase sought by the labourers, the union secretary, Mr Rob Mogensen said.

The dispute was the cause of a four-and-a-half week strike by labourers during July and August this year. “We are not particularly happy with it but there isn’t a hell of a lot we can

do about it at this stage,” he said. The Arbitration Court’s decision is binding for the period of the award.

Because the 12 month award has been backdated to June 5, the next round of award talks can get under way fairly soon and talks can begin in February. This new award increases the gross basic wage to $ll6 a week. The labourers have re« ceived full backdating to the expiry of their award making about 30 weeks of backpay by the time the increases take effect — a total sum of between $90,000 and $lOO,OOO, said Mr Mogenson. The Town Clerk (Mr D. M. Shirley) said the council would make every effort. to get the increases and the back pay to the labourers before Christmas.