Trades council post

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 6

Trades council post

Mr G. G. Walker was elected secretary of the Canterbury Trades Council at its annual meeting in. Christchurch last evening.

He succeeds Mr L. G. Morel, who retired after six years in the post. Mr Walker, aged 52, who is president of the Fire Brigades’ Federation and South Island secretary of both the Fire Brigades’ Union and the Allied Liquor Trades Union, was secretary of the Trades Council from 1970 to 1975. He said, after the threehour meeting that the main task facing the union movement was “massive redundancies and increasing unemployment.” . Mr Walker defeated Mr J. A. Stewart in a ballot for the post. . ,

Mr Stewart was appointed secretary of the Canterbury branch of Actors’ Equity and of the South Island Projectionists’ Union this year. He is a part-time lecturer at Christchurch Polytechnic and next year will succeed Mr N. Williams as .editor of a Leftwing magazine published in Christchurch, the “Monthly Review.”

The Trades Council president, Mr W. R. Cameron, and vice-president, Mr P. E. Piesse, were re-elected unopposed.

Mr P. R. Liggett, secretary of the Canterbury Drivers’ Union, defeated Mr F. E. McNulty for the post of Trades Council representative on the national council of the Federation of Labour.

In doing so, he reversed the trend of the last three years when Mr McNulty has won the elections.

Mr ,McNulty remains on the council’s disputes committee with Mr R. A. Lowe.

Messrs McNulty and H. McCrory (Clothing Trades) lost their seats on the sevenmember executive in a ballot. Twelve were nominated. Those elected were: Messrs W. B. Brown (Labourers), A. Lea (Food Processors), Liggett (Drivers), R. Lingard (Hotel Workers), Lowe (Labourers), and Mesdames H. Brown and M. Hilston. The two new members of the executive are Mr Lea and Mrs Hilston.