Tanker Taiko sails

Press, 2 April 1985, Page 1

Tanker Taiko sails

PA Wellington Action by cooks and stewards which left the bitumen tanker Taiko stranded and picketed at Auckland for four days was called off yesterday after an initiative at Parliament involving the Minister of Transport, Mr Prebble, and representatives of four maritime unions.

The Taiko sailed for Marsden Point soon after the cooks and stewards returned to work at 2 p.m., and will catch up on a backlog which has left many parte of New Zealand critically short of bitumen. The dispute had centred on accommodation in the Taiko. The three union members in the ship who share two cabins want three single berths.

Mr Prebble said he was asked to intervene in the dispute by the general manager of the Union Shipping Group on March 29, and he had asked the industry and the unions for briefings. He took the opportunity to speak yesterday morning to representatives of the four maritime unions who were attending a steering committee at the Beehive for the Maritime Conference to be held later this month. “As a result of these discussions, the Cooks and Stewards’ Union has accepted a Government offer to provide facilities for mediation of terms of reference and arbitration on the dispute. This arbitration will be held after the Maritime Conference,” said Mr Prebble.

He said the Government believed the building of ships before resolving questions of manning and accommodation was at the heart of the dispute. The president of the Canterbury Contractors’ Association, Mr Ray Hanna, said last evening that it was hoped that bitumen supplies in Canterbury would last at. least another two weeks. The next supply was due about mid-Apru by which time the demands for meeting reading contracts were hoped to have diminished, Mr Hanna said. This time of the year was the busiest for contractors and supplies were critical. “I don’t think our situation is any better than that of any other port in the country,” he said.