Officials predict more mills will close

Press, 20 August 1986, Page 5

Officials predict more mills will close

Officials of the Woollen Workers’ Union yesterday predicted more companies would close unless the Government listened to calls to change its economic policy. Mr Paddy O’Flanagan, the national secretary, warned that the closing of U.E.B. Industries’, Christchurch yarn mill was "only the tip of the iceberg.” Other manufacturing industries would experience

similar closings, he said

“When U.E.B. came to Christchurch three years ago to assess the situation here, they did that under a National Government They decided to invest a lot of money in expanding, $8 million. Since then there have been so many economic changes — somebody changed all the rules on them,” Mr O’Flanagan said.

He said he had been “up and down the hill to

Parliament” countless times to talk to Government Ministers.

“No way can New Zealand products compete overseas with subsidised products and all sorts of protection without subsidies,” he said.

U.E.B. had had its fingers burnt with the fluctuating Australian dollar, Mr O’Flanagan said.

“But when the Australian dollar goes from 89 cents (against the New Zealand dollar) to 76 cents in seven days, who can predict what is happening?” The Canterbury branch secretary, Mr Andy Lea, seemed angrier at “the glib statements coming out of Treasury” last evening than at the amount of notice given to workers of the closing. He had been told by company officials on Monday that he should be in Christchurch yesterday. He was in Auckland at conciliation talks during the week-end and flew to Christchurch with Mr O’Flanagan yesterday morning after receiving the company’s message. He and Mr O’Flanagan were given details of the closing just after midday yesterday. They read the company statement to workers at a meeting at 3 p.m.

The Woollen Workers’ Union covers 200 of the 248 people made redundant. The others are

members of the unions for engineers, hotel workers, stationary engine drivers, and clerical workers. A joint committee of all unions will negotiate the redundancy agreements, Mr Lea said. The first meeting with company representatives is planned for 8.30 a.m. today. Mr Lea said the agreements worked out for shift workers made redundant four months ago will be used as a base for negotiations. The workers had given clear instructions to their union officials as to what they wanted.

Mr Lea said the workers were “copping it at both ends of the Government’s policies.” It was the politicians he was angry with.

The political reality was the Government was operating a free market which did not exist, he said.

As well as meeting to keep workers up to date with progress on redundancies, a meeting of local members of Parliament would be arranged for Friday at which workers could ask pertinent questions of their representatives.

Mr Lea said there was a possibility of relocating some Christchurch workers at other U.E.B. textile mills or within the other U.E.B. Christchurch plants, but that would accommodate only a few.