Firestone dispute at stalemate

Press, 3 June 1981, Page 2

Firestone dispute at stalemate

A dispute over the dismissal of an employee at the Firestone tyre factory in Papanui has reached a stalemate, and fellow rubber workers are likely to remain on strike for some time. The company will not reinstate the worker unless this is recommended by a disputes committee with ah independent chairman or the Arbitration Court, and the workers have decided not to take the dispute to a committee or to the court. The disputes procedures were legalistic and did not show compassion, said Mr L. G. Morel, secretary of the Canterbury: Rubber Workers’ Union, yesterday,y. ■ Themattershould be han> /died by the " workers and the company, he said-. The rubber workers wdre acquainted with the facts df ' trie case and were prepared to put their wages on the litie to support the dismissed employee. K'. The union’s executive had yesterday afternoon pledged its support for the employee ■and had totally rejected the Company’s reasons for .dismissing him. i ■ The employee was. being

victimised because he was a union leader. He had made a mistake on a tyre and when confronted witri the mistake he had not been allowed to rectify it, Mr' Morel said. Two persons had handled the tyre after the .employee had finished with it, and they also had not seen the error. It was discovered during a spot check, he said.' The company’s industrial manager, Mr G. Lea,, said that seven tyres. had been faulty, not one, arid, that the employee had had the chance to rectify his mistakes before passing therri on. It was the fourth time the employee had been warned for making mistakes. The last time was in September last year, when he had been told that if there was a further offence within the year, he would be dismissed, Mr Lea said. He was, adamant that the worker ; would not be reemployed unless this was recommended by a disputes committee or the Arbitration Court. Work was running out and If the rubber workers did not go back to work, the com-

pany would have to consider suspending staff. The production of about 2800 tyres was being lost daily in the strike, which began on . May 29. The strike was endangering the company’s export business, and although clients had arrived from overseas, delivery times could not be guaranteed, Mr Lea said.