Sydney strike will stop mail completely

Press, 17 July 1979, Page 8

Sydney strike will stop mail completely

NZPA Sydney The trickle of mail from Sydney’s mail exchanges will stop completely tonight when workers begin a 24hour strike. The New South Wales secretary of the Australian Post and Telecommunications Union (Mr Merv Hawkins) said yesterday that the strike would begin at 11 p.m. today to allow 2300 postal officers to hold a mass meeting tomorrow.

Mr Hawkins said the postal officers, from the Redfern Central Mail Exchange, the General Post Office, and the suburban Artarmon exchange would discuss what further action to take in their dispute with Australia Post.

Another meeting would be held this afternoon at Redfern Oval for about 1500 postal workers who had been stood down.

A spokesman for Australia Post said more than 2000 postal workers had been stood down in New South Wales because of their union bans on the introduction of a new mail-network scheme. Mr Hawkins said that if Australia Post did not try to force union members to sort letters and parcels for new mail centres at Wollongong and Canberra, mail could be flowing again in New South Wales. The Australian Telecommunications Employees’ Association would recommend to its members that they suspend their industrial bans, the secretary, Mr Bill Mansfield, said yesterday afternoon.

He believed procedures had been established for the advancement of 20 per cent pay-rise claims.