Carter quits mediation

By PAULA OLIVER

Carter Holt Harvey yesterday refused to take any further part in mediation with the Waterfront Workers Union over its port dispute.

It said it would instead rely on the protection of the law to ensure there was no further interference with the loading of its ships.

That could mean taking out court injunctions against the union interfering with its business, said the Employers and Manufacturers Association's northern arm said.

Carter Holt has been locked in mediation with the union for at least six weeks, after a bitter four-month dispute over its use of out-of-town Mainland Stevedoring labour to load logs on ships in the South Island.

The mediation process blew wide open two weeks ago when a leaked draft report by veteran mediator Walter Grills revealed that there was no legal substance in any of the union's claims.

The union had claimed that Carter Holt's practices casualised the work done by permanent employees, undermined safety standards and conditions and used North Island labour.

Carter Holt chief executive Chris Liddell said yesterday that his company had withdrawn from any further mediation.

"It is public knowledge that the mediator has rejected all the arguments put up by the WWU in support of their campaign and we have reached the end of our patience.

"We have tried to find a compromise with the union. On each occasion we have offered a solution, they have not had the courtesy to respond."

Union national secretary Trevor Hanson said that was incorrect. "Our reaction is one of horror," he said. "We thought we were making progress."