Unions “not so black’

Press, 28 March 1979, Page 25

Unions “not so black’

PA Wellington Trade Unions are often given a blacker image than they deserve, .says the retiring deputy general manager of the Railways Department. Mr Ivor Trask. “I get very angry with people who say they are anti-union. Unions are a fact of life, and we have to live with them,” he said. Mt Trask, who is 56, retired after finishing. 40 years service with the department. For nearly 20 years he, was involved in industrial relations, and he said he felt relations between management and unions had been fairly good until recent months. He blamed the economic crisis for many strikes and disruptions. “People are demanding a bigger share of the cake,” he said. “Some on the breadline see others getting more money, and they want the same.”

Mr Trask said workers should have the right to strike if they felt it was necessary. But often more was achieved by sitting down and discussing problems.

The Railways management had tried to do this in recent years, but was “now getting the. backlash,” fe said.