Port dispute affects many people—union

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 9

Port dispute affects many people—union

The Lyttelton Waterfront Workers’ union says there are many Christchurch people waiting for goods delayed at the port because of industrial disharmony.

The union placed a newspaper advertisement last Friday advising people with stranded goods that they could collect them if they had official customs and agriculture clearance. But the dispute between the waterside unions and international moving companies means that the companies will not let people have the clearances. Mr Warren Collins, the Christchurch branch’s secretary, said there were "very few” people who moved independently rather than through a large firm. > He agreed that the advertisement applied only to those moving independently.

Mr Collins said on Saturday that he knew of several consignments left affected at Lyttelton’s container terminal. He said yesterday that he knew of several more containers also held up at the port. A report in “The Press” of Saturday highlighted the plight of an English family who for two months have waited for their personal effects to be released from the port. Mr Collins said that that family’s goods were the only ones delayed at the container terminal. But there were six or seven containers — each carrying several consignees’, belongings — in other parts of the port. Mr Collins was aware of

another Christchurch man who had not been able to obtain belongings shipped from Hobart, Tasmania, more than four months ago. Those belongings were believed to be stranded at Auckland as a result of the dispute. The Overseas Movers’ Society has applied for an injunction against the union — the society believes the union has reneged on an agreement allowing moving companies to unpack containers holding more than one person’s consignment. Mr Collins said the Christchurch brand was not party to the agreement the society claimed was broken.