One-day strike at ports on Monday

Press, 14 March 1987, Page 2

One-day strike at ports on Monday

PA Wellington New Zealand’s ports will be hit by a 24-hour strike from midnight tomorrow, harbour workers say. The industrial officer of the Harbour Employees Workers’ Union, Mr Eddie Dixon, said there would be no ship movements in and out of ports during the strike and no loading or unloading where harbour board workers were involved. Cook Strait ferries would not run, he said. “If the employers have got a proposition which will satisfy the needs of habour board workers, we will discuss that at any time,”-Mr Dixon said. The national stoppage was announced shortly before noon yesterday by the secretary of the union, Mr Ross Wilson, who called it “the first opportunity for our members to demonstrate their concerns at the employers’ rigid position at the award talks.” Mr Wilson said union members had given a specific direction for the strike with a vote that was 83 per cent in favour. “The union’s claims are reasonable,” he said. A 7 per cent increase in wages was a modest claim in light of 18 per cent inflation in the cost of living. Another fundamental claim was for an award clause committing employers to immediate negotiations on changes to the conditions of employment on the waterfront. In Nelson, the general manager of Pine Forest, Mr Kevin Steel, said the strike could have a disastrous effect on woodchip loading. “We cannot stop the ships coming, they are on their way,” he said. “We would just have to leave them tied up outside. We would lose a lot of face with our Japanese customers. They are very nervous about industrial problems. We do not like it.” The three chip carriers are to take 50,000 tonnes of pine chips and 25,000 tonnes of beech chips to Japan, the entire chip mountain range now waiting at the port. The regional manager, Mr Bill Findlater, said cool storage capacity was not critical at this stage, but if the strike was extended it could affect fruit storage right from the orchard through to the shipping, he said. The Harbour Board Employees’ Union covers a wide range of workers including tug crews, forklift drivers, tradesmen, and clerical staff.