Rail goods spoiled

Press, 26 April 1984, Page 1

Rail goods spoiled

A container of seafood will have to be thrown out after being stranded in Picton by the railwaymen’s freight-handling ban. The ban was imposed on Wednesday by about 40 shunters, number-takers, and panel operators after a dispute with the Railways Corporation about the Easter and Anzac Day roster. The corporation had rostered about a third of the workers off for the holiday period. The union asserted that there was sufficient work for all. The ban caused about 500 to 600 waggons to be

stranded in the North Island, and about 270 in Marlborough — including a number containing perishable freight, some for export.

The Blenheim branch chairman of the National Union of Railwaymen, Mr Kevin Faithful, said yesterday that at a meeting in Blenheim on Tuesday morning the workers had confirmed their intention to return to work at midnight last night, whether or not the dispute had been solved.

Mr K. Thaisen, the Ministry of Agriculture’s regional

meat veterinarian in Christchurch, said yesterday that his staff had inspected 16 of the containers stranded in Marlborough. He said that one, which probably contained mussels, was a “write-off.” The frozen produce inside the container had thawed and spoiled. “The rest had warmed up to varying degrees,” Mr Thaisen said.

He thought that the rest might still be fit for human consumption. The containers had been filled again with carbon dioxide after the inspection and had been sealed with Ministry seals.

Apart from the container of mussels, they would all go to Wellington today, where they would be further inspected by Ministry staff.

Mr Thaisen said that the container of mussels would be returned to where it had come from. Containers of cheese had not been inspected, but Mr Thaisen said cheese was not as vulnerable as other good. It would be dealt with by the Dairy Board.

The corporation’s Christchurch district traffic manager, Mr R. J. Taylor, said yesterday that the corporation’s image as a reliable transport operator had been badly tarnished by this stoppage. Export freight was a big part of the corporation’s business. The first train to leave Picton after the lifting of the ban was to be a 12.05 a.m. departure for Christchurch.