TV dispute to go to tribunal?

Press, 24 September 1980, Page 6

TV dispute to go to tribunal?

The Public Sector Tribunal may yet be asked to deal with the dispute over pay claims for television production workers which has this week led to rolling stoppages and forced the cancellation of a number of New Zealand-made television programmes. The chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation (Mr lan Cross) yesterday expressed disppointment that the P.S.A. had not been willing to call off its stoppage an<j refer the dispute to the tribunal. He said the P.S.A. was well aware that the corporation had not only offered to have the matter referred to the tribunal, but had given an assurance that it would clear any legal or other obstacles to getting the dispute to arbitration and settled within a few weeks. But the Canterbury section of the P.S.A. (Mr . J. E. Cornhill) said that Mr Cross’s statement was very revealing, because at one stage- the corporation had asserted that there may have been obstacles to access to the tribunal.

A meeting of the P.S.A. negotiators on Friday would consider the possibility of taking a case to the tribunal. It would be one of the avenues open to the P.S.A. What was really preferred was a constructive move away from the nil offer by the corporation. The P.S.A. preferred to negotiate on claims; tribunals tended to be homes for failed negotiators.

■ Mr Cornhilf said members would have to be consulted after Friday’s meeting. ■ They would probably meet next

week, unless there were any earlier developments. Mr Cross said that losses in revenue resulting from the strike would have to be recovered by trimming spending for the rest of the financial year. ’ "