Bishop to look for 'middle ground’ in Tasman row

Press, 3 September 1986, Page 2

Bishop to look for 'middle ground’ in Tasman row

PA Hamilton The Bishop of Aotearoa, the Rt Rev. Hui Vercoe, has stepped into the bitter Kawerau mill-closing row with a promise to try to find middle ground between management and unions. Bishop Vercoe plans to meet Maori workers from the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company’s mill in a meeting at Rautahi marae in Kawerau today. The “Waikato Times” said it was believed Bishop Vercoe’s move was the first time a New Zealand Church leader had become directly involved in an industrial dispute. Bishop Vercoe said most of the Tasman workforce was Maori and so the Anglican Maori Synod saw a role for him in the dispute. He confirmed he would look at claims that the Northern Pulp and Paper Federation was not representing the wishes of Kawerau workers. “I have heard hearsay th?t workers did not want to go any further, I will find out at this meeting what our people are saying.” Bishop Vercoe said taking a role in the six-week dispute was the unanimous recommendation of 200 Anglican Maori par-

ishes at a Synod meeting at Turangawaewae marae last week-end. Tasman’s operations manager, Mr Graham Ogilvie, said that by next week he should know how much longer the 475 salaried staff at the plant would have work. About 800 people will be locked out of the plant from today when the mill closes indefinitely.

Mr Ogilvie predicted there would be several weeks work for the salaried staff. The owner of a trucking firm, Mr Mike Lambert, said yesterday that people in Bay of Plenty were not sufficiently aware of the importance of the Tasman Pulp and Paper mill to the economy of the area. “People say that when Kawerau and Kinleith are humming the whole bay hums along, but when either of them have problems we are all in trouble,” he said. The worst aspect of the continuing lock-out was the Government’s silence. “The’ Government has to step in. It is the only way it can be fixed,” he said. “They are elected to govern — it is about time they did so.”

Mr Lambert said the loss of work from Kawerau had cost his company about 20 per cent of its business. Mr Lambert’s trucks carry logs and sawn timber from Kawerau to the port, and logs to Murupara. He said he had not laid any drivers off yet, but two drivers had left.

A mass rally will be held in Kawerau tomorrow to coincide with the visit by the president of the Federation of Labour, Mr Jim Knox, for talks with Tasman pulp and paper workers. The rally has been organised by a prominent Kawerau citizen, Mr Paul Tairua, a pulp and paper worker at the nearby Caxton mill and a former Social Credit Party candidate.

Mr Tairua said several groups ,of residents in the town wanted a return to work at Kawerau based on the company’s terms of settlement.

The Tasman Pulp and Paper company freighter Tasman Enterprise has been laid, up at Mount Maunganui. The crew of the ship was paid off on Monday.