Rubber strike: F.O.L. tries to start talks

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 9

Rubber strike: F.O.L. tries to start talks

A meeting of rubber workers’ employers, the union and Government representatives is being sought by the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr Jim Knox.

The secretary of the Canterbury Rubber Workers’ Union, Mr Roger Brott, said that an attempt would be made to arrange a meeting of the three groups before Christmas.

“How he (Mr Knox) does this I don’t know but he has done this kind of thing before,” said Mr Brott. Rubber workers have been on strike and locked out for almost four weeks over a pay relativity issue. Mr Brott said workers would have to wait and see

what Mr Knox would do about arranging a meeting. The F.O.L. was being most supportive of the rubber workers because of the importance of. the relativity issue, said Mr Brott.

Some rubber workers had applied to the Social Welfare Department for benefits but were awaiting a decision on whether they would receive payments. Mr Brott said that since the workers had been locked out there was no reason why special benefits could not be paid. However, the assistant director of benefits and pensions in Christchurch, Mr Cliff Money, said that until the Social Security Commission decided otherwise,

most workers would not receive benefits.

Details of the dispute would be sent to the commission today, but in the meantime the department was treating the action as a strike and were unable to pay benefits to most applicants.

The commission had previously taken “quite a bit of time” in making decisions about similar matters and often a dispute had been settled by the time a ruling had been made, said Mr Money. However, married workers with children could apply for hardship benefits which could be up to $BO in any week depending on the circumstances, he said.