Cement supplies dwindle as strike continues

Press, 11 February 1985, Page 9

Cement supplies dwindle as strike continues

Supplies of cement are dwindling in the South island because of a strike by engineers and labourers at the Westport plant of New Zealand Cement Holdings, Ltd. The Westport works is the main source of both bagged and bulk cement for Christchurch. The company’s two ships have also been tied up during the dispute. At the end of last week Ready-mix cement com-

panies in Christchurch had almost run out of cement supplies. The secretary of the central branch of the Labourers’ Union, Mr Steve O’Reilly, said yesterday that the workers were seeking pay rate parity with those at the Portland cement works in Whangarei. A meeting would be held at the company’s Burnside plant, in Dunedin, this morning, he said. A conciliation council on

the wages issue was adjourned sine die by the conciliator, Mr Len Fortune, on January 28. Engineers and labourers employed at the Cape Foulwind plant struck on January 29, the first strike there in 27 years. The managing director of New Zealand Cement Holdings, Mr D. M. Wilson, returned from Australia yesterday and was unavailable for comment last evening.