Kinleith dispute may soon hit Chch firms

Press, 20 February 1980, Page 6

Kinleith dispute may soon hit Chch firms

Christchurch businesses might soon suffer badly from a shortage of paper products if the Kinleith dispute continues much longer. The managing director of Whitcoulls, Ltd (Mr P. E. Bourne), said that the main problem was in packaging: the cardboard industry was expected to be out of material in three or four weeks. Not only the Stationery trade would be hit. Most foodstuffs could not be packed for export or be presented for the domestic market. Whitcoulls held stock for two or three months requirements, Mr Bourne said, but this would go quickly. If the dispute, now in its sixth week, was not settled within a month, his firm would have run out of some items, especially packaging cardboard. He said the paper distribution industry' should have taken all possibilities into account. If materials became unavailable, the firms should be ready to import. Mr Bourne has sent a telegram to the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) expressing his company’s concern. In Auckland, the managing director of Lockley Off-Set Printing (Mr J. Heynen) has predicted "absolute disaster.” He said that within two months New Zealand’s_ businesses would bri without paper for invoices, letterheads, envelopes, docket books, computers, statements, purchase orders, packing slips, or bus tickets.

Mr Heynen said the loss could not be made up by imports because the production

of that sort of paper was a protected industry'- “By the time the Government' got round to issuing import licences, it would take three months for the paper to arrive,” he said. Another packaging firm in Christchurch, U.E.B. Industries, Ltd, has adequate stocks but expects to be seriously affected if the dispute continues. The container plant manager (Mr N. Houston) said his company' would be “no better off” than any other packager. He said that many food lines would be affected, as well as all goods that were packed in cardboard. Packers of goods in corrugated cardboard relied particularly on Kinleith supplies. Big food retailers are not sure how seriously the dispute will affect them, but believe the position is serious. A spokesman for one company said it was not usual to hold a big back-up of stock. Companies that ran on small stocks would soon have their supplies exhausted. Bigger companies, however, continually faced the problem of ensuring continuity of supply. For many of their lines they maintained only about a fortnight’s stock, he said. They could not afford to carry more. These firms would probably juggle stock from store to store and try to handle the problem as best they could. Mr Heynen said yesterday that shortages would occur even if the stalemated dispute were settled immediately. The shortages would be long-lasting because the Kinleith mill worked to a three-month production cycle, seven days a week, and

could not increase production to meet shortages. Mr A. E. J. Arts, senior vice-president of the Canterbury Printing Industries Association, said the average commercial printer was not yet affected by the dispute. However, a “good percentage” of supplies usually came from Kinleith and there was no way of telling what might happen. From Auckland, the Press Association reports that hopes of peace in the pulp and paper industry are stacked on negotiations to be held at Kawerau today and tomorrow.

Representatives of Tasman Pulp and Paper and more than a dozen trade unions will face each other in two wage-bargaining sessions. No public statements are due to be made until tomorrow afternoon.

The strike by the combined unions at N.Z. Forest Products, Ltd, will colour the Tasman negotiations — the pay rates of tradesmen employed by the two companies have traditionally been as close, as half a cent apart. If an agreement were reached at Kawerau by tomorrow afternoon, it would create an optimistic air for the reopening of peace talks between Forest Products and the Federation •of Labour in Auckland on Friday morning. Forest Products, has handed suspension notices to hundreds more workers this week. By last evening, 2600 workers were either on strike or suspended from work. About 200 more are taking their annual holidays and will be given suspension notices , when they return to work.