Govt may use troops to run essential services

Press, 10 July 1979, Page 1

Govt may use troops to run essential services

The Government will call on the military if it becomes necessary to maintain essential services during the 48-hour drivers’ strike, which started at midnight last night.

“We will try to find out what has been arranged in connection with essential services,” said the Acting Prime Minister (Mr Talboys) after yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. “If necessary we will contemplate using military personnel to maintain essential services,” he said.

About 20,000 Drivers’ Federation members throughout New Zealand are on strike, but in Canterbury the drivers last evening confirmed their earlier decision to strike for five days. The strike, in support of a claim for a 20 per cent wage increase, will hit Canterbury manufacturers particularly hard, after the three-week rail disruption and a local petrol tanker drivers’ strike.

Mr Taiboys said that the Minister of Defence (Mr Gill) would assess the need for military assistance. Obviously supplies to hospitals had to be got through. “I do not think anybody in New Zealand would suggest that hospitals be denied supplies,” Mr Talboys said.

The federation has said that it will make exceptions only for a “real emergency.” Mr Taiboys denounced the strike action as “irresponsible.” The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) had said several times that free wage bargaining could function only under a system in which such pressure did not exist, he said. The drivers’ case is seen as important by union officials and employers, as well as the Government, because it is usually one of the key documents for ascertaining relativity. If the drivers get a big wage increase, the unions which follow it in ensuing conciliation talks are likely to

argue the case for maintaining the relativity. Meat may be short in Christchurch next week because the usual weekly Addington stock sale which was to have been held today has been cancelled. Stock will not be carted by members of the union during the strike. Many butchers buy stock at the yards to be killed on their behalf at the city abattoir or at meat works.

However, stock transport firms received ample warning of the strike and no animals were brought to the Addington saleyards.

Bread deliveries may also be threatened by the drivers’ strike. A spokesman for one big Christchurch bakery said yesterday that bread would be baked and delivered today, but he could not guarantee supplies for the rest of the week. Negotiations were continuing with the federation for exemptions to outlying districts and essential services such as hospitals, he said. Stock levels were adequate. Boons Bakery was hope-

ful last evening that bread would be delivered throughout the week. The manager (Mr M. Scott) said that it had been agreed to allow managerial staff to make normal deliveries while the drivers were on strike. The company also employed two owner-drivers, he said. Supplies of draught deer are not expected to be affected because beer-tanker drivers are not members of the union; nor will milk

supplies in Christchurch be affected by the strike. Milk delivery vehicles are privately owned. Mail between Christchurch and Nelson may be stopped by the drivers’ strike* but little disruption is expected to other services.

Mr K. A. Mackay, the deputy Chief Postmaster in Christchurch, said that all surface mail to and from Nelson was moved bv Newmans coach, and therefore affected by the drivers’ action.

The Christchurch City Council is seeking special dispensation for rubbish collections. Until this is granted all metropolitan

tips will be closed, and no collections will be made. Talks may be held today. Bulldozer drivers are members of the union, and unless they cover the daily refuse tipped at the dumps a health hazard is feared. Collections of household rubbish will be postponed because local body drivers also are on strike. The exception is Kaiapoi, where collections are done by private contract. At Lyttelton, three ves-

seis may not be worked today.

The strike could have a widespread effect on country school bus services. The acting general manager of the Canterbury Education Board (Mr J. F. Dysart) said that more than 50 per cent of school buses were run by private contractors, and could be stopped by the strike. Rail-freight movements through Christchurch are expected to be back to normal this morning. Unlike other parts of New Zealand, Christchurch was able to clear over the week-end most of the freight built up during the rail dispute.

An assistant district traffic manager (Mr D. J. Bradley) said that the railwaymen, who returned to work at midnight on Friday, moved 9000 tonnes of freight out of Christchurch on Saturday and Sunday. A small backlog left was cleared yesterday, he said.

The Drivers’ Federation’s industrial officer (Mr R. E.

Campbell) said yesterday that the national strike was merely the prelude to industrial action over the collapse of award negotiations. “It will be followed by job and regional stoppages, and other forms of industrial action,” he said. The strike became probable after the drivers’ award talks first foundered on June 1, and a certainty after another collapse on July 2. In the first instance, negotiations broke down when the Road Transport Industry responded to a claim for a 20 per cent pay rise with an offer of a fiat $9 to $lO a week increase in all driving categories, without a requirement to include any general wage order awarded this year. It is believed that the drivers’ claims are still before the Conciliation Court, and strike action, without the withdrawal of such claims, is illegal under industrial relations legislation. Christchurch manufacturers, reeling from the effects of the recently resolved rail dispute, may find themselves in dire straits if the drivers’ dispute is not quickly settled, according to the director of the Canterburv Manufacturers Association (Mr I. D. Howell). “It appears that lay-offs will be inevitable this week if the drivers are not prepared to reconsider their position,” said Mr Howell last evening. The problem for Canterbury manufacturers was two-fold. Deliveries of essential raw materials had already been delayed two weeks by the railways dispute, Mr Howell said. Some businesses had received nominal deliveries yesterday, but the supplies were not sufficient to sustain manufacturers for long. The second problem was getting the goods out of Canterbury to their markets. Many manufacturers had not been able to freight goods during the last two weeks, and had therefore not been paid for their output. Wages to staff might be affected, Mr Howell said.