Cuts to ferry crews opposed

Press, 25 July 1986, Page 4

Cuts to ferry crews opposed

PA Wellington Wellington-based cooks and stewards have voted unanimously to reject a Railways Corporation plan to reduce the number of crew in inter-island ferries.

The corporation wants to cut the number of cooks and stewards by a third to about 144, as part of a cost-cutting and efficiency drive to make Railways more competitive.

It asked the Cooks and Stewards’ Union to approve a new shift roster whereby members would work seven days on and seven days off, instead of the present four days on and eight off. The proposal would reduce the number of crews for each ferry from three to two.

However, a recent meeting of Wellington members rejected the

proposal outright. Cooks and stewards in Auckland and Christchurch also discussed the plan in separate meetings but did not vote on the issue.

The national secretary, of the union, Mr Dave Graham, said the corporation’s plan was an emotive issue but was not put to the vote in Auckland or Christchurch “because of certain considerations which I am not prepared to elaborate on.” However, the union was always prepared to discuss matters of mutual interest with the corpora-tion,-he said. The assistant general manager of the corporation, Mr Ewan McQueen, said Railways would continue exploring cost-sav-ing options “and I wouldn’t want to exclude this one.” He described discussions with the union as delicate.