Six riggers to start, others to meet, at refinery

Press, 14 December 1982, Page 6

Six riggers to start, others to meet, at refinery

PA Whangarei Six riggers were shown the ropes on the Marsden Point oil refinery expansion site yesterday, in readiness to start work today in spite of a union ban. Riggers on the site are demanding that a prominent trade unionist, Mr John Doran, the central figure in a dispute which halted maintenance work on the refinery, be given a job before anybody else. But, like the New Zealand Refining Company, the expansion consortium, JV2, refuses to employ him. The riggers who are already working on the expansion site met briefly yesterday morning, and will meet again early this morning. Mr Doran and Auckland officials of the Labourers’ Union are expected to attend. The six riggers broke an induction course to attend yesterday's meeting, said JV2's industrial relations

manager, Mr Peter Rogers. The six resumed their course afterwards, but Mr Rogers said he did not know if they had joined the union. Mr Rogers said that he hoped that the six would start work today. The Auckland union officials will have to return soon after this morning’s meeting for a sitting of the Arbitration Court. JV2’s proposals to import 50 boilermakers and 150 riggers, mostly from Britain, will be discussed at the hearing. It is expected that the Doran row will also be mentioned. The New Zealand Refining Company announced yesterday that it hoped to start tomorrow the long procedure of refiring the refinery, after its long closedown for maintenance.. A company official said that the first cargo of refined petrol was scheduled to, leave the plant about December 29.