STRIKE UNRESOL VED
(New Zealand Press Association)
INVERCARGILL, July 11.
The strike which has paralysed the £l5 million Manapouri underground powerhouse contract at West Arm will enter its eighth day tomorrow with a further meeting of workers at 9 a.m.
This morning’s meeting was so poorly attended that it was adjourned after about 10 minutes. Ice and snow in northern Southland late last night and this morning prevented many workers from returning to West Arm.
Extra boats standing by to transport men back to the job were not required. Meh continued to arrive back throughout today and tonight. Mr W. C. McDonnell, of Dunedin, secretary of the Otago Trades Council and a member of the negotiating
committee for the West Arm Combined Unions Association, said: “We are hoping to get the men back to work as soon as possible.” Mr McDonnell said he, and other members of the negotiating committee, Messrs J. A. Boomer (Engineers’ Union) and L. B. Swan (Labourers’ Union) would not return to West Arm until they had received further reports from union men on the job. Unless these three return to West Arm there can be no negotiation between union and management. Already the combined unions’ executive on the job has refused a request by Mr McDonnell and others to go back to work. Mr McDonnell said the men would go back but their return would take time.
The dispute is over the payments of height money, dirt money and gumboot allowances.
Mr McDonnell said that there was no question of senior union officials "wiping their hands’* of the West Arm strike.
He said that Messrs Boomer, Swan and he were awaiting reports from West Arm. As the committee set down under agreement to handle all negotiations between workers and management at West Arm, they would return when needed.
“We are hoping to get the men back as soon as possible,” Mr McDonnell said. “Had it not • been for police actions, we might have got them back on Friday. The embargo on liquor and searching of baggage caused a resentment that hardened the men’s attitude against returning to work and against accepting our recommendations to do so.”
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19660712.2.12
Bibliographic details
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Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31109, 12 July 1966, Page 1
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361STRIKE UNRESOL VED Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31109, 12 July 1966, Page 1
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