Railwaymen to strike?

Press, 4 February 1984, Page 9

Railwaymen to strike?

The Addington branch of the Railway Tradesmen’s Association has given 14 days notice of intended industrial action because its members are not satisfied that head office management is doing enough to get work for the workshops. A meeting of about 350 members of the branch on Wednesday also recorded a vote of no-confidence in the Railways Corporation’s chief mechanical engineer and the chief civil engineer. The branch secretary, Mr Royce Broderick, said that the corporation’s assistant general manager (personnel), Mr Kevin Hyde, had earlier this year exhorted staff to ensure that the corporation faced up to competition and won new business. Traffic, road services, and door-to-door deliveries had “at least picked up the challenge” but the mechanical and civil engineering chiefs had not done enough, in the view of the association, Mr Broderick said. “We believe the engineering side is just bumbling along. What we need is someone to get out and sell us,” he said. The association was tired of trying to convince the management of its members’ ability to be competitive. Engineering management was using its costing system to justify letting work go out of the workshops which could easily be done by railwaymen, Mr Broderick said. Recent examples were a contract for painting railway houses at Otira and the importing of much readymade componentry for four locomotives from Japan. "What we want to know is why we are not competitive,” he said. “We want an independent inquiry into our costing structure to see just where we are not competitive. We do not believe it is our members, and we have challenged them to say otherwise.” The branch had endorsed the action of the executive of the association in placing a ban on work on an im-

ported locomotive which was ready for commissioning. However, the branch was prepared to enter into “fruitful” negotiations at any time to try to solve the problem, Mr Broderick said. The corporation’s chief industrial officer, Mr Les Stockley, said from Wellington that the issue was under discussion between Railways management and the national office of the association. “Railways management has given the association an undertaking that a closer analysis and more research in the costing area will be carried out,” he said. Details of this would be discussed at a meeting soon. “The corporation is somewhat surprised that these undertakings, given to the association’s national office, appear to be unacceptable to the Addington branch,” Mr Stockley said. The corporation was “disappointed” with the ban put on work on the locomotive. The Addington branch was asking for a reassessment of costings. This was already being done. There had been no formal request for an independent inquiry and until the national office of the association made such a request the corporation would continue with its existing undertaking.