Canterbury stoppage unlikely to end before tomorrow

Press, 11 July 1979, Page 1

Canterbury stoppage unlikely to end before tomorrow

The Government’s threat to end free wage bargaining appears to have forced the Drivers’ Federation to curtail industrial stoppages after midnight tonight.

However, in Canterbury the strike is expected to continue until tomorrow at least, because the ruies of the Canterbury Drivers’ Union do not give the executive power to order a return to work, and the members at their strike meeting did not give the executive a mandate to r ake such a decision.

The union’s secretary (Mr P. R. Liggett) said that Canterbury executive members could not meet before this afternoon. The executive would decide whether to call meetings of drivers.

If the meetings of union members went ahead tomorrow it would be for them to decide whether to end the strike in Canterbury, Mr Liggett said. Christchurch members are expected to meet at 10 a.m. and drivers in outlying centres, such as Ashburton, Timaru, and Rangiora in the afternoon. Mr Liggett said that he would recommend a return to work so that the union assessors could attend the “Government - orchestrated” conciliation council set up for Friday. He said that he would recommend the return because he did not believe the union had the right to place all other unionists under wage regulations. He said that he had asked an official of the Drivers’ Federation to attend the union meeting to answer members’ questions.

If the employers did not make a satisfactory offer the union would return to the members for a decision on what action to take. ‘We have to examine the offer and its impact on the trade union movement as a whole,” Mr Liggett said. "It is up to the em= ployers to make a realistic

offer. If it is above the Government’s guideline we will have to see the Government about that,” he said. The director of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr I. D. Howell) said that some manufacturers might be forced to lay staff off this week because of the strike’s effects. Other companies had arranged to have staff take annual leave early to prevent lay-offs. Moffat Appliances has warned staff of lay-offs today, while staff of New Zealand Towel Supply were laid off from yesterday. Supplies of fruit and vegetables are still available in Christchurch, but the volume is down considerably. because of the driver’s strike. The manager of McFarlane and Growers, Ltd (Mr A. Cahill), said that the union had given dispensation for the collection of produce from the Railways and Christchurch Airport, but not to bring in supplies from local markets or to deliver to retailers. The strike is having only a limited effect on the supply of eggs to Christchurch because poultry suppliers had been given dispensation by the union to carry essential poultry feeds. Fish-supply drivers had also been given special dispensation to continue supplying, said a spokesman for United Fisheries, Ltd. Coach-tour companies are another group not to be unduly affected by the strike. They were granted dispensation to continue tours and charters in progress because it is the low season. However, Midland Coach-

lines, which runs a service between outlying districts such as Kaiapoi, Rangiora, and Leeston to Christchurch, has been badly hit. Ail these services were stopped by the strike.

At Twizel the Drivers’ Union has allowed dispensation for the bus drivers so that 500 men can return to work today on the Upper Waitaki power development project.

Some school buses driven by members of the Canterbury Drivers’ Union took children to school yesterday morning contrary to union direction, but they will not run today.

An urgent reduction in the Christchurch strike’s three-day extension — on humanitarian grounds — is being sought by the Christchurch City Council.

A telegram was sent to the Drivers’ Union and the Employers’ Association yesterday after a policy and finance committee meeting, deploring the extra strike days. “Some people will starve if this goes on until Monday,” said Sir Robert Macfarlane. Public transport might stop and food supplies run critically short, if the strike was prolonged, he said.

The Mayor of Christchurch (Mi- H. G. Hay) said that South Island employers and workers had enough problems without an extended strike.

General drivers in Otago will stay out until midnight tonight, in spite of the call from the federation to hold meetings today.

What the drivers are paid — Page 2