Date not yet set for engineers’ talks

Press, 5 October 1985, Page 9

Date not yet set for engineers’ talks

Widespread industrial action continued in Canterbury yesterday as engineering workers held stop-work meetings and voted to take limited industrial action in response to the breakdown in conciliation talks for the metal trades award. By midday yesterday more than 60 factories in Canterbury had been affected by the action. The engineering workers who are taking one-day or twoday strike action or banning overtime include workers who are covered by other engineering awards as well as those covered by the metal trades award. Canterbury employers were briefed on the dispute yesterday by the employer advocate for the talks, Mr Peter Carroll. The talks broke down in Wellington when the Engineers’ Union withdrew its claims. It refiled them two days later, but no, dates have been set yet for a resumption of the talks. Mr Carroll said that the

talks had not resumed because the union had not asked for their resumption and had made no attempt to arrange new dates. The conciliator, Mr John Hall, whose task it is to help the parties make the award, said from Wellington yesterday that in terms of the Industrial Relations Act it was the conciliator who set the dates, in consultation with the union and the employers. In practice over the years what had happened was that the parties would call at the conciliator’s office and make a reservation in the diary. Mr Hall said that both parties had indicated that they needed more time to consult their members. One point which had to be cleared was whether, the employers were prepared to waive the statutory sixweek time restriction, which delays conciliation until six weeks from the date that claims are filed, said Mr Hall.

“The employers have not yet said they are prepared to waive that restriction,” said Mr Hall. Mr Carroll said that when the metal trades talks were terminated the employers had an offer on the table which included a 10 per cent increase in base wage rates from Otober 11; the raising of the lowest award rate 14.1 per cent (he accepted that few workers were in that grade); a further increase to basic rates of 3 per cent from May 1; an increase in other payments and allowances of 13 per cent from October 11; and slightly higher increases to qualification payments. “In return the employers asked for some counterclaims to be considered. Most of these were minor administrative matters of no cost to the union or workers,” said Mr Carroll. However, there were important claims. One was for an undertaking by the union that the award settlement

would not be followed by claims against individual companies for further changes in working conditions. A second important claim was for an undertaking by the union that it would follow normal disputes procedures to resolve disputes. A third claim, said Mr Carroll, was that part-time shifts be worked without the need for further negotiation at the workplace. The union still had a substantial list of claims that were outstanding, including a claim for a wage increase of 17 per cent. The employers were prepared to resume conciliation talks but would have to take account of economic conditions at the time, such as the difficulties faced by exporters as the New Zealand dollar strengthened against other currencies, and the recent drop in farmers’ incomes, said Mr Carroll.