Tally clerks stop work, close port

Press, 11 October 1979, Page 1

Tally clerks stop work, close port

Lyttelton tally clerks yesterday withdrew their labour for 48 hours, bringing the port to a virtual standstill.

A spokesman for the Port Employers’ Association said the stoppage follov ed a 45min stop-work meeting which began at 7.15 a.m. about a breakdown in award negotiations for an incentive bonus scheme for tally clerks. Without tally clerks there was no work for some watersiders, and they were suspended. The stoppage prevented the Nedlloyd Frazer’s leaving for Auckland today. The scheduled Friday departures of four other ships will be delayed.

The Holmdale, which was to sail for the Chatham Islands on Friday, will now leave port on Monday subject to settlement of the dispute. No tanker is believed to be affected by the dispute as yet. The next tanker expected in port is the Ngakuta. which is to arrive from Tauranga on Monday. A port conciliation conference was held yesterday afternoon to determine whether the roll-on vessel Coastal Trader,

which arrived at Lyttelton soon after 6 a.m., would be allowed to sail on her usual schedule. The employers said that the regular-service ship was classified under the Industrial Relations Act as an “essential service.” But she did not sail. The secretary of the Watersiders’ Union (Mr M. E. Foster) said that the tally clerks’ section of the union had an entirely separate award from other watersiders; some watersiders continued to work in

instances where tally clerks were not required. The president of the Lyttelton branch of the union (Mr R. Fergus) said that the basis of the tally clerks’ claim was that they should get a bonus equivalent to that of watersiders. Tally clerks in some other ports were already getting the higher bonus.

The agreement being negotiated includes the ports of Lyttelton, Wellington, Napier, and Mount Maunganui.