Guild settlement frees ferries

Press, 28 June 1989, Page 3

Guild settlement frees ferries

By

TONY WALL

The Merchant Service Guild yesterday agreed to settle the dispute over rosters and wages which prevented Cook Strait ferries from sailing and crippled shipping for almost a month.

The guild was the last union to settle, following the Cooks and Stewards’ Union on Friday, and the Seamen’s Union on Monday.

The Inter-island Line’s general manager, Mr Ivan Gough, said the cost of the dispute to the Railways Corporation would be hard to estimate.

The corporation’s main objective was to remove the provision for out-of-port travel from national awards which was costing about $2.4 million annually..

Although expensive, Mr Gough said it was worth the effort. The corporation has made some ground in updating employment and roster systems on board its three ferries.

The seamen’s four days on, six days off system

has been replaced with a seven on, seven off roster which is repeated and then followed with a single round of seven days on, 14 off. The cooks and stewards have settled for a straight seven on, 14 off to replace their present four on, eight off system.

The unions will also receive a 4 per cent general wage rise. Also, members who were employed on June 6 will get an $BOOO payment for the loss of the provision from their awards. In addition, members living out of Wellington will receive a payment equivalent to one year’s air fares.

The package is estimated to cost the Corporation SSM. The Arahura, which was to sail to Australia for survey work, will now sail to Port Chalmers for a big refit.

“We can now get back to normal. There are still a lot of details to settle but the major disruption is behind us,” Mr Gough said.