Aust., N.Z. Govts 'may overturn ship-manning pact’

Press, 12 August 1980, Page 6

Aust., N.Z. Govts 'may overturn ship-manning pact’

i The threat to New Zealand’s meat exports to Iran appears to be receding as members of the Seamen’s Union call off pickets; but there may be a new threat of industrial action affecting the Tasman trade.

; The acting national president of the-Seamen’s, Union (Mr D. .Clark), said from Wellington that ; the ban on the - Blueport . ACT Line. vessel Trojan-Star at Auckland had been lifted yesterday. The members believed -they had made.' their; point over ’ the issue, of . union demands. forNew Zealand! seamen to man vessels carrying New Zealand| cargo to third countries. i He believed that. no ban; would be imposed on the America Star, also' loading meat for, Iran at Bluff. . ;

Lyttelton ' seamen . held a stop-work meeting, yesterday, but; according to ;Mr Clark it was a normal monthly, stopwork at which the officials brought' members' up to date on ’ union action. Similar meetings were being held at all .ports,. including Nelson today, arid Bluff last evening. . '‘Action" promised by the South Island Secretary (Mi T. B. Stuart) may take the form'- of a demonstration

rather than picketing or bans on the Bluff wharves. When Mr Stuart spoke ■of "picketing”. in December last year, when the Montreal Star was loading meat for Iran, what eventuated was a demonstration.- ' . : / ;':

; The new threat has been hinted at ih the Australian “financial Review”, of August 6. . ■■ ’

j The columnist “Chantiicleer” said that: Australian Government officials ; were looking at overturning the Australian-New Zealand maritime unions’, arrangement whereby ’ vessels, plying between the two countries must have Australian or New Zealand crews. , If the Governments tried to overturn the agreement it Could provoke a national shipping strike, the magazine said. ' ■ :

. The Australian Government sanctioned- the agreement, on manning, but now the New Zealand Ministry of Trans-

port and the Australian Bureau of Transport Economics were investigating the transport facilities between the two countries. The magazine said that a letter from an Australian Government official to the Conference Lines was leaked to the unions. .

Vessels owned by the Conference Lines travelling to the northern hemisphere carry empty containers between Australia and New Zealand, and in the letter the official said that one aspect of the Tasman trade which would be given close attention was the effect on competition “if the policies of the New Zealand and Australian maritime unions, were less restrictive.”

The nationalpresident of the New Zealand Seamen’s Union (Mr D. Morgan) is in Australia this week and the Tasman arrangement is expected , to be discussed with the Australian union..