Bitumen worry may be over this morning

Press, 23 August 1984, Page 1

Bitumen worry may be over this morning

By

PATRICIA HERBERT

in Wellington The long-running industrial dispute which has disrupted bitumen supplies throughout New Zealand may be resolved this morning. The Under-Secretary for Transport, Mr Jeffries, made the announcement yesterday after meeting a Canterbury delegation to discuss the problem. He told the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, the chairman of the Waimairi District Council, Mrs Margaret Murray, and the chairman of the Canterbury and Westland branch of the Contractors’ Federation, Mr Ray Hanna, that the Maritime Unions and the Union Steam Ship Company would meet today and that a settlement was likely. Mr Jeffries said the Government wanted supplies resumed as soon as possible because the disruption was threatening jobs and costing money, but that that would depend on a shipment now resting at Singapore coming to New Zealand.

Stocks all over the country are low because of a manning dispute which has stopped the bitumen tanker Taiko from entering the coastal shipping service. However, the South Island has been hardest hit because it has no alternative means of transport.

Sir Hamish said yesterday that North Island users had even that day been able to get supplies either by road or rail. He went to the meeting armed with a written submission expressing the Christchurch City Council’s deep concern about the effect the bitumen shortage was having on its construction and street repair works. There were .no satisfactory alternatives for road surfacing, he said, and if the disruption continued the council’s $2 million maintenance programme would have to be abandoned. This would mean that workers might eventually have to be laid off or forced to take annual leave because they would have nothing • to do, he said. Mr Hanna said that as many as 1500 private sector jobs in Canterbury and Westland might be threatened if the dispute was not speedily settled. It would depend on what alternative work could be found for staff. He also said that the industry would be able to employ fewer students over the summer months than was usual and reminded the Government of its policy of creating employment opportunities. Many enterprises relied on bitumen, Mr Hanna said. This meant that the effect

of the shortage was widespread and might eventually extend to the building trade. All three members of the delegation left the meeting pleased with the outcome. Sir Hamish said that the discussion had been constructive and that he was sure Mr Jeffries was now “fully aware of the gravity of the situation as seen by local bodies and contractors in Canterbury.” They not only received an assurance that the Government was actively seeking a settlement, but also persuaded Mr Jeffries of the need to cushion the public against future shortages of bitumen. Mr Jeffries said that, even with the Taiko working, further “hiccups" in supply would occur because of the delay at the refinery renewal programme at Marsden Point. “Production started only 10 days ago and we now know that there are going to be disruptions in this basic commodity as summer goes on,” he said. Then some time next year, there would be another delay when the Marsden Point refinery and extension were integrated. “The delegation has made it plain that these later problems will occur and the Government will talk to the industry about the need to foresee them now and to plan against them,” Mr Jeffries said.