Airport clerks back down after P.M.’s threat

Press, 26 April 1979, Page 1

Airport clerks back down after P.M.’s threat

Clerical workers at Christchurch Airport returned to normal work yesterday, after a threat by the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) on Tuesday to deregister their union.

The secretary of the Canterbury Clerical Workers’ Union (Mrs D. Shannon) described the move, decided by secret ballot at a stop-work meeting, as a “holding action’’ until the Federation of Labour could call a meeting tomorrow of all airport unions.

The deregistration threat came soon after the clerks decided on action in protest against the Government’s intention to tax travel allowances. This included a refusal to handle the ticketing of any member of Parliament, or any

passenger travelling on an Inland Revenue Department bulk ticket. The clerks also voted to stop the collection of departure tax and to consider a similar move over the 10 per cent ticketing tax. Other unions involved at the airport were to be asked to support the protest action. According to Mrs Shannon, Mr Muldoon must have made the threat only minutes after the member of Parliament for Gisborne (Mr R. L. Bell) telephoned from the airport, where clerks had refused to handle his ticket. Soon after 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Mr Bell had told the clerks of his intention to telephone the Prime Minister. Mrs Shannon said she was then “shocked” to hear Mr Muldoon, on a radio broadcast at 5 p.m.,

threaten deregistration. The threat was confirmed that evening by the Secretary of Labour (Mr G. L. Jackson) in a telephone call from Wellington. Mr Jackson had told her that papers for the deregistration of the Canterbury union were being drawn up, Mrs Shannon said. She said {hat Air New Zealand executives had warned the clerical workers that refusal to handle normal ticketing work would result in "instant dismissal.” The executives also said that they would ‘bodily assist” Mr Bell on to a flight if the clerks continued their refusal, Mrs Shannon said.

On the direction of’ the union executive. Mr Bell was then allowed passage out of Christchurch An Air New Zealand spokesman last evening confirmed that executives had threatned to bypass the clerks and put Mr Bell aboard a flight. The spokesman said that after an initial refusal the clerks had agreed to do the ticketing and Mr Bell was able to leave. He said he was not aware of any directive for the workrs to resume full dtueis or be dismissed.

At yesterday’s meeting, the clerical workers decided to drop the work bans, and call on the F.O.L. to hold a meeting of all four unions involved at the airport. A further stop-work meeting is set for 11.15 a.m. on Saturday.

Mr Jackson advised the union that plans for its deregistration were withdrawn after the meeting yesterday, Mrs Shannon said. She said that neither Mr Muldoon nor the Minister of Labour (Mr Bolger) had approached the union over the possible deregistration. During Tuesday evening, Mrs Shannon said, she felt

the union could be deregistered at any time. The airport workers were “pretty incensed” about the Government’s intention to tax travel allowances, and then the ■ deregistration threat, she said. She saw it as an act of “sour grapes” by the Prime Minister in reaction to the outcome of the compulsory unionism ballot among clerical workers. She would not comment on further action . by the workers. The Engineers’ Union will this morning discuss national action over the Inland Revenue Department’s decision to go ahead with the tax on Airport Engineers’ travel allowances. In the afternoon they will meet Air New Zealand management and will press for immediate renegotiation of the travel 1 allowance to make up tax losses. . ;■ The secretary of the 1 Canterbury branch of the 1 union (Mr R. J. Todd) said ' last evening that “certain proposals” would be put 1 to the airline, but he could 1 not reveal them. ■ ; A representative of the clerical workers at ’ Christchurch Airport and < the National Clerical ’ Workers’ secretary (Mr J. , Slater) will attend a preliminary meeting of the 1 Engineers' Union and will <

“sit in” at the talks with Air New Zealand. Air New Zealand engineers at Christchurch and Auckland stopped work before Easter; when ■the announcement of the new tax was made. Mr Todd could not comment on possible further action by the engineers. Clerical workers at Christchurch Airport receive a “one-way” travel allowance under the same agreement as the engineers have with the airline. Mrs Shannon said that it did not amount to the same in monetary terms. She described it as “a part-reimbursement for actual costs of travel, due to the airport’s being an isolated work place.” The member of Parliament for Sydenham (Mr N. J. Kirk) yesterday criticised the clerks’ ban because it affected Labour members as well as. National. Mr Kirk, who is chairman of Labour’s caucus transport committee, said the behaviour of the union, in that instance, was hard to understand. It had been Labour which had opposed the airline merger, because of the “industrial consequences” it would have on groups such as the clerical workers. He described the action as a confusion of targets.”