Govt to look at proposals for petrol restrictions

Press, 20 August 1981, Page 1

Govt to look at proposals for petrol restrictions

PA Wellington The Cabinet next week would consider proposals for restricting petrol availability regardless of whether workers at the Marsden Point oil refinery agreed tomorrow to end their industrial disputes, which threaten New Zealand’s fuel supplies, said the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) yesterday.

Unless there was some certainty, of a settlement, he would have to move to restrict petrol consumption and to spread the available supplies as evenly as he could.

He would need to have contingency plans in place. Mr Birch said, “we can’t do those overnight.” He had some proposals “knocked into shape” to take to,the Cabinet on Monday. “If the refinery is able to get back to work it may mean we will not have to put some of those in place.” He was looking mainly at a week-end sales ban on petrol. “We have the experience of 1979 (when, earless days were enforced). We how have the legislation In place. It is a matter of introducing regulations to'cope with the new situation.” Mr Birch said- that the level of petrol .stocks was “very critical” and that by Monday supplies would be down to 11 days)

“We are reaching a level where we cannot guarantee supplies.” . . ’ Supplies for about 4.5 days would come, into the country by tanker next week and by August 31 stocks would be down to eight days. It would then be “very difficult to maintain supplies and spread them evenly through New Zealand."

Mr Birch spoke soon after the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) and worker and employer representatives had agreed on proposals which may end the disputes.

Workers at the refinery

will meet tomorrow morning to consider the proposals, which were formulated at a meeting at Parliament which lasted for. about 7 J /z hours. The-meeting was attended: by the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr W. J. Knox, and representatives of engine drivers, boilermakers, and engineers.

Mr. Knox said after the meeting. “We have finally got an agreement between us that we can take to the men. It is up to the men to accept it but we will make the recommendation.” .

Mr Bolger, who declined to discuss the proposals in detail, said he was hopeful that they would be accepted by the plant workers affected: operators and .maintenance tradesmen.

The plant’s troubles involve two separate conflicts. The operators seek an hourly rate of $6.18 and have been offered $5.47. The maintenance tradesmen including boilermakers and engineers, seek $6.70 and have been offered $5.46. The present shut-down of the refinery is a result of action taken by the maintenance workers. On July 29 they put restrictions on maintenance and the comS declared the restricto be a strike. Although . the 35 maintenance workers have arrived at the gates of the refinery each day there has been no work. They say that the dispute is not a strike and that they have been locked out.

The 90 operators withdrew

their pay claims and issued notices of industrial action.

. Two committees of inquiry have failed to reach decisions on the dispute.

Mr Knox said that the recommendation to tomorrow’s meeting would cover three unions and the two disputes. “At that stage the men themselves will make a decision of accepting or rejecting the recommendation. Once we get that meeting over then we will know how we’re situated regarding getting a quick return to work.”

Mr Knox said that after five days of maintenance work the refinery would be back in production.

“That will not be done until such time as it is fully explained to the men what the recommendation means. I have, in my mind, hopes that' perhaps that will bring about a) settlement."

The dispute has,seen the Government threaten to invoke the Commerce Act, 1975, which says that- the Arbitration Court can order a resumption of full work if it is satisfied that the New Zealand economy or the economies of individual companies are affected or are likely to be affected in the immediate future by a strike.

At the same time as an order for a return to work is made, the Court must set out a procedure for settling the dispute. A refusal to obey a Court directive can bring a maximum fine of $l5OO on any union and a fine of $l5O on individual workers.