Muldoon-Knox talks bring hope of Tuesday settlement

Press, 28 February 1981, Page 1

Muldoon-Knox talks bring hope of Tuesday settlement

Parliamentary Reporter

New Zealand “‘closed office” for the week-end yesterday without any resolution of the industrial unrest brought about by the arrest of picketing engineers at Auckland Airport on Tuesday.

Nor are there any guarantees that next week will bring an improvement. By last evening, however, the six trade unionists still in Mount Eden Prison had decided to accept bail and three distinct points had emerged: the Prime. Minister (Mr Muldoon) and the Government were firmly in the box seat, the executive of the Federation of Labour was awkwardly placed between its conciliatory instincts and the brinkmanship of the Auckland Trades Council, and the Auckland militants were becoming progressively isolated from the bulk of the union movement. A temporary solution was at hand late yesterday afternoon which would see the F.O.L. putting its ■weight behind a return to work on Tuesday. But it is the timetabling of this back-to-work call which is the sticking point. The whole initiative came from the F.O.L. whose president (Mr W. J. Knox) said he was . pleased that the Government and the F.O.L. were again talking to each other about the issue. What he is unlikely to be happy about, however, is that the proposal by the F.O.L. had to’ show support for the ’ Auckland in a way which precluded its ready acceptance by the Government. Mr Knox met Mr Muldoon yesterday afternoon with a six-point resolution of the executive of the F.O.L. which formed the basis of the proposal. In the resolution the executive: 1. Re-endorsed its decision of Wednesday to support workers taking spontaneous action on the

right to peaceful picketing; 2. Endorsed continuance of this action, in particular support for a demonstration called by the Auckland Trades Council on Monday, the day the arrested men are supposed to appear in the Otahuhu District Court; 3. Called for trades councils and affiliated unions to take action to “win a. clear, understanding” of the issues involved in the right to picket and opposition to the involvement of the police in industrial matters as well as to give support for further stoppages if they are called by the executive of the F.0.L.; 4. Called on all unions still involved in stoppages to resume work on Tuesday; 5. Requested the Gov? ernment to discuss ' immediately with the F.O.L. appropriate legislation to allow the legal right to picket and to establish the conditions under which pickets could exercise this right; and 6. Sought the support of the Government for this position, after which the F.O.L. would request the Engineers’ Union to accept the principles of the formula already established for the start of negotiations to resolve the Air New Zealand dispute. Mr Mujdoon received the proposal, acknowledged the conciliatory stance of the F.0.L., and said that a decision would have to be left to the Cabinet on Monday. 3-is decision should be available by 11 a.m. Of -the six points only one, that seeking talks between the F.O.L. and the

Government on the legal right to picket, demands anything from the Government and this has already been agreed to. But the proposal is a package and Mr Muldoon was confronted with two fish-hooks: the Auckland Trades Council demonstration and the delay until Tuesday for a return to work. Both are trade-off points: because the F.O.L. must show solidarity and support for its Auckland me bers at the heart of the disruption the points had to be included but because c” they do is show support for those at the heart of the disruption the points cannot be accepted at simple face value by the Government. Nevertheless the F.O.L. line has receded during the week and Mr Knox nr - recognises that there can be no stay of proceedings' on the charges against- the arrested picketers.

Without- provocation New Zealand could be back to some semblance of normality by Tuesday. Whether it is might depend on events in Auckland on Monday rather than the deliberations of the Cabinet on the proposal hv the F.O.L.

Although several unions which struck in support of the arrested men* during the first few days have now returned to work, the demonstration on Monday still promises to be a big one. The possibility of further arrests, purely on matters of civil order and entirely unrelated to the industrial scene, cannot be discounted. Some elements may seek to ensure such arrests in an attempt to prolong the unrest.

“We are the hostages of the labour unions,” said one tourist in the offices of the United States Consul agency in Christchurch yesterday, surrounded by at least 100 fellow Americans.

Another stranded visitor, Dr Ralph Kleinman, estimated that there might be 400 people in the South Island alone unable to return to the United States because of industrial action.

“I saw so many of our citizens crying, running out of money, and destitute that I decided to arrange a meeting with the consul agent here (Mr J. M. Ott) to see if the United States Embassy could help us to return home,” he said. In two hours yesterday morning, the word went around Christchurch motels and hotels, calling the Americans to the meeting. The tourists, as individuals or parties, crammed into the Oxford Terrace consular agency in the afternoon. Each signed an official request for