Twizel gets fuel

Press, 9 May 1980, Page 1

Twizel gets fuel

The Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) has called a compulsory conference of all parties to the dispute centred on the Christchurch contracting firm of Musgrove Brothers, Ltd, over redundancy payments.

This means that all bans and restrictions connected with the. Musgrove dispute will be lifted and work will return to normal today on the Upper Waitaki power project where hundreds of jobs were threatened.

The Ministry of Works ' and Development at Twizel was. advised yesterday afternoon by the Canterbury Drivers’ Union that fuel deliveries to the site would be resumed. About 560 workers on the Upper Waitaki project! would have had to be suspended by today because of the fuel’s having run out as the result of a fuel j delivery ban imposed on May 2. Other Ministry of Works sites were also subjected to the ban, but had not run short of fuel by yesterday. ; The Ministry’s public relations officer (Mr R. D. ; Ramsay) said that ■ it was ■hoped to start the-Twizel ' morning shift today at 6 a.m., the normal workday ' starting at 7.30- a.m. and : the afternoon shift at 3 p.m. Mr Ramsay said it was hoped to receive a double delivery of the normal quantity of fuel today (76,000 litres) and an extra tanker of fuel tomorrow.

It was not normal for Saturday deliveries to be made.

The project normally had 300,000 litres of fuel on hand and it would take a week for supplies to again build up to this figure.

It was hoped that the ■ normal tempo of work would return by midday. i The compulsory confer- ! ence will be held in the office of the- conciliator 1 in Christchurch at 10 a.m. ' on May 13. The chairman of the compulsory conference will be Mr M. Teen, a Government - appointed mediator who has his ' office .in Christchurch. He ' will have the power to make a binding decision.