Shearers will strike for wage increase

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 4

Shearers will strike for wage increase

Shearers throughout New Zealand will strike from Monday in support of an increase in wages. Award talks for shearers and shedhands broke down on Tuesday for the third time. The union’s advocate, Mr Geoff Pere, said employers had refused to agree to the union’s “bot-tom-line” claim of an increase of $5.85 per 100 sheep shorn. They would not recognise historical payments for local rates and ignored the claims of pressers, cooks, shedhands and learner shedhands, said Mr Pere. Low rates of pay were forcing many shearers to move to Australia, he said.

Mr Pere said a series of meetings of shearers last month decided to reject the employers’ offer of a $3 per 100 increase. The strike would go on indefinitely and disrupt shearing competitions, including the fine-wool championships at Alexandra this month and the Waimate Spring Shears in October.

Mr Hugh Philbert, a senior advocate for the Employers’ Federation, representing the shearing employers, said an increase of $5.85 represented a total reimbursement of the tax deductions shearers had lost. This recovery was being sought totally from employers. On top of this a 30 to 40 per cent increase in shearers, award rates was being sought. What was being sought for cooks and shedhands was far in excess of comparable work rates in other awards.

“The employers tabled a package in June which we felt was realistic but the union has not changed its position since day one,” he said. Mr Philbert said Mr Pere did not seem to comprehend that individual local agreements throughout the country were not recognised in awards.

Mr Philbert said a three-point proposal had been tabled by the union late in Tuesday’s meeting. Talks had been adjourned.