Stevedoring workers at the port of Lyttelton near Christchurch held a two-day picket at the end of December to oppose the contracting out by the Lyttelton Port Company of its coal receiving and loading operations. On the second day Christine Clark was run down.

About 1.4 million tons of coal are loaded out of the Lyttelton Port each year. Up to 30 workers, who are members of the Rail and Maritime Transport Union, the Waterfront Workers Union, and the Foremen Stevedores Union, are employed when a coal vessel is in port for loading. The unions offered to reduce the costs of coal handling by $395,000, which would come directly out of workers' wages and conditions. This was not enough for the Lyttelton Port Company and it awarded the work to G.C. Smith Contracting.

According to a leaflet put out by the unions, the same contracting company recently took over the work of unionized miners in one of the West Coast mines, replacing them with fewer workers and lower pay and conditions.

Workers employed at the port stopped work when the first ship to be loaded by G.C. Smith Contracting—the "Sea Swift"—was expected in Lyttelton. A picket and roadblock on the road leading to the docks was organized and drew up to 200 people, including port workers, Lyttelton residents, and unionists from Christchurch.

The aim of the picket was to gain widespread support for their fight. Cars, trucks, and buses seeking entry into the wharves were stopped, and the people were given leaflets while workers explained their fight before they were let through. G.C. Smith Contracting did not attempt to get its workers through the picket or to load the ship. On the second day, at a meeting with union representatives, the Lyttelton Port Company undertook not to hand over the work for at least another month and agreed to further negotiations with the unions over the coal handling work.

Stuart Needham is a member of the Meat Workers Union (MWU) in Christchurch.  
 
 
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