Dispute threatens oil supplies

Press, 18 April 1979, Page 6

Dispute threatens oil supplies

Six fitters at the Woolston oil depot, which pumps all Christchurch’s oil supplies from Lyttelton, have threatened industrial action in a dispute over backdating of double-time payments.

The secretary of the Canterbury branch of the Engineers’ Union (Mr R. J. Todd) said that the union was (till try ing to resolve the dispute with the employers, Mobil Oil N.Z., Ltd. but if no agreement was reached today the union would serve 14 days notice of possible industrial action. Notice is legally required because the oil industry is an essential industry under the Industrial Relations Act. The fitters met yesterday and decided to give notice of action unless the dispute was resolved today. Mr Todd said that if the fitters walked off the job no oil would come over the hills from Lyttelton to the storage tanks at Woolston. but a full strike was not the only possible form of action. He said that rhe company had agreed last October to make double-time payments for work done by fitters after 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m.. in line with payments to air- 1 craft refuellers at Christ-! church Airport However, the point at’ issue was whether the company should backdate the 1 payments to 1974. when thej refuellers started receiving the payments. The company says that the payments should onlv be from last, October. The threat of industrial action came as a surprise to

• the company’s industrial re-11 stations adviser in Wellington:! . (Mr R. Linney), who said; >|that he believed the problem b ■‘had been solved last Decem- . ber; he had heard nothing? >, about it in the last four 1 ,-i months. ? 1: If the problem was ua-p ! resolved the company would p I try to start discussions with! i the union, be said. I: i. Oil stocks in Christchurch )1 ■ are normal at present, accord-[i ing to the companies. A spokesman for Shell Oil 1 P(N.Z.), Ltd, said that he knew) 1 ; of no problem with supplies. I i Mobile Oil N.Z., Ltd, hadb normal supplies at present,p • but a spokesman was unable? i Ito say how long these would*’ J last. The comnanv received[l ijtwo tankers of oil a month)' '[and these were on schedule. ' he said. Supplies at B.P. (N.Z.),‘i , Ltd. were also normal, a ’ ; spokesman said. ’ •I However, the Press Associ-i’ Ration reports from Welling-? .‘ton that New Zealand’s stock ; J of diesel is approaching): 'critical levels and the future! •of supplies looks even' • gloomier than for petrol. ? : “I am concerned now. but' ijthe future is more worry- 1 ding,” said a Ministry of I’ (Energy official yesterday. Members of the industrial sub-committee of the Ad-1 jvisory Restraints Committee: — the Government-industry-committee which advises the

i Ministry — have emphasised the need for an immediate • publicity campaign to make ] diesel savings. I National port stocks of diesel were down to 14 days before Easter, but in some centres holding tanks were [dry before bridging supplies [could reach them. | Some private-sector representatives on the advisorv [group are concerned that too [much emphasis has been placed on the need to save i petrol at the expense of [diesel. They said yesterday that voluntary savings were [much more important in the [industrial sectors, because 'any mandatory measures (would adversely affect com- • pany profitability, and subse- • quently productivity and unemployment. Industry has been asked to ‘make voluntary savings, but the private sectoi committee members are disturbed about [the lack of figures to indi- • cate any such savings. • “If the Government was [serious about the need for [fuel savings, it would put more money into publicity,” one committee member said. The §400,000 set aside for campaign advertising has run out. However, it is believed that the Minister of Energy i(Mr Birch) placed proposals 'before the Cabinet yesterday [to free more money to maintain fuel-saving publicity.