Auckland staggers through troubles

Press, 27 February 1981, Page 4

Auckland staggers through troubles

PA ' Auckland Auckland lurched from one series of strikes to another yesterday as various unions ended or continued strikes in support of 48 picketers arrested at Auckland Airport on Tuesday. Factories continued to bei

hard hit by stoppages. Motorists had one consolation as they were turned away from dry Auckland inner-city petrol stations last evening; they could get a bus to work today.

Service station staff were under heavy pressure throughout yesterday afternoon as motorists broke open pay packets to top up. Oil companies reported that a handful of the’ service stations they supply had already run out of petrol by early evening. The companies hoped that with buses back on the road today demand for commuting fuel would ease and that supplies at most garages could hold out until Monday. Drivers working for Auckland’s private bus companies were back at work yesterday morning after a 24-hour stoppage that affected commuters and school children.

The Tramways Union vesterdav recommended to

its members, who man the Auckland Regional Authority’s buses, to return to work this morning, at least until Monday. A question hangs over tonight’s milk deliveries. to the North Shore and west | and part of central Auckland.

At the Auckland Milk Corporation plant, which, services these areas, plan engineers yesterday returned to work after a 24-hcur stoppage, but members of the Dairy Workers’ Uqion remained on strike, and’ so milk did .not. go out last: night; i

They were to meet this morning to decide. whether to go back. The corporation* said its farmer suppliers had tipped out 150,000 litres of milk and 30,000 litres had been drained from the plant’s own holding tanks.

Milk cannot be diverted into other products because tanker drivers are not working. .. Workers at the other milk ‘plant decided ,to keep working.

The strike by Railways tradesmen at Westfield has left the department without locomotives fit to haul passenger and goods trains'. Ah servicing, checking, and refuelling of . locomotives working out of Auckland is done at Westfield. Few trucks are working between Auckland and Hamilton because of drivers’ acf”m Members of the National Union of Railwaymen have so far taken no action, but will meet today. Drivers of Railways Road Services buses will meet today to discuss whether they will join the strike. But even if they stay on, road services suburban bus depots

are running low on fuel and could be out by Mondav.

A meeting of members of the Northern Drivers’ Union will be held in the Auckland Town Hall on Monday morning to consider whether to join the strike. ’ Several hundred engineers were told at a meeting al Auckland Airport yesterday to continue their pickets and

lend moral support to the picketers who were arrested on Tuesday. From Invercargill it is reported that fitters and engineers at three of Southland’s freezing works, and seamen crewing the Stewart Island ferry Wairua, were the only groups ’ there to

take strike action immediately. Freezing works union officials said there would be no meetings and no votes on the matter — it was the policy of the Otago-Southland branch to obey the directives of the national executive.

Cook Strait ferry services stood suspended until further notice because of the seamen’s strike in support of the Auckland picketers, said a Railways Department spokesman last evening. Thousands of passengers have been delayed by the stoppage. Wellington commuters face a second busless day today as drivers continue their protest stoppage until midnight. Wellington Drivers’ Union members, motor-assembly workers, and caretakers, cleaners, and security staff in the region returned to work yesterday after strik'nWaterfront workers were all back on the job at Lyttelton yesterday, the foremen having decided to resume work, the watersiders’ having returned to work on Wednesdav, and the members of. the Harbour Board Employees’ Union having decided not to take any action. Members of the Seamen’s Union continued their strike. The Union Hobart remained stranded in port and the Union Steam Ship Company’s tanker Erne, just arrived from Marsden Point, remained at anchor. The Dunedin, which arrived from Mount Maunganui on Wednesday with a cargo of paper, remained stranded at Lyttelton’s bulk unloading berth. The Holmdale arrived from thei Chatham Islands yesterday i but she, too, was made idle) by the seamen’s stoppage. I