Party wants unions on S.O.E. boards

Press, 13 May 1987, Page 5

Party wants unions on S.O.E. boards

PA Hamilton Unions should be represented on the boards of State-owned enterprises, the Labour Party’s Waikato-Bay of Plenty conference has decided. Delegates complained bitterly of the Right-wing sympathies of many of those appointed. One appointee made “Pinochet look like a Plunket nurse,” a disgruntled delegate told the conference. The conference considered a number of proposals on S.O.E.S before condensing them into one remit that asked for balanced representation on S.O.E. boards including at least one member from the relevant union. The Labour Party should never have to fight for union representation on such boards, said the Waikato regional Labour Party president, Mr Dave Jamieson. Workers should have a say on the boards, they were the people who knew best about safety

and they could also help improve efficiency, he said.

One delegate was concerned that a remit calling for Labour members of Parliament to be made aware of the social damage caused in towns such as Huntly would not be put if the remits were combined. It was important M.P.s had some idea of what was happening in the regions, she said. Another delegate said he was concerned that the restructuring had been done in a callous way. Perhaps the changes were needed, but they could have been done in a way that did not disaffect people from Labour, he said.