Shoppers troubled little by walkout

Press, 17 November 1987, Page 1

Shoppers troubled little by walkout

By

JANE DUNBAR

Some central city Christchurch stores, were forced.io.dose.by. the surprise shop-assistant walkout yesterday, but most remained open and untroubled. Shops north of the Square were the hardest hit, with L. D. Nathans Mark 11, Farmers Trading Company and Minsons having to close their doors early in the day. Whitcoulls, Ballantynes, and Hallensteins were all affected, but stayed open using management staff on the floors. Hannahs kept two stores open, but the Cashel Street store closed. In the mid-afternoon some staff in the city were still confused as to whether to stay at

work. | In one Inner-city« women’s fashion store, a group stood “A lot of young girls are too scared to go out,” said one woman. “I Just don’t know what to do,” said another. The group eventually decided to leave. “We’ll probably get lots of trouble,” said the manageress, "but we’d prefer that to being blacklisted.” At another fashion store, the women said they were waiting for union officials to come round and talk to them before they made up their minds. At Whitcoulls one of the staff said there had been many tears in the morning as people decided what to do.

“There was a lot of pressure from others,” he said. Whitcoulls’ South Island manastaff had gone home, the store would stay open. All the suburban stores would also stay open. Not all of the larger stores were affected. D.I.C. with a retail staff of 90, lost only one assistant to the walk-out. L. D. Nathans in High Street was about 30 per cent down on staff, but also stayed open. "Perhaps if it had been a hot day I’d have gone home to do some gardening,” quipped one shop assistant. Most people had stayed at work because they had spent too much money on “this week’s great specials,” he said.