Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) organiser John Kerr was upbeat after yesterday's meeting, at which Hillside union delegates and KiwiRail negotiators agreed to push the deadline for consultation on the proposed redundancies out an extra week.
Initial talks between the parties broke down when union delegates alleged KiwiRail negotiators were "behaving unprofessionally".
A Department of Labour official was brought in to help "facilitate" negotiations yesterday, Mr Kerr said.
Union delegates will now have until July 8 to argue for the retention of jobs at Hillside, as KiwiRail considers cutting up to 40 positions as part of a nationwide proposal to axe 70 jobs from its rail engineering and design operations. KiwiRail also proposes to cut 30 jobs from its Woburn workshop in Lower Hutt.
Save Hillside campaigners had begun organising an Octagon rally on July 9 in a bid to send a message to the Government to keep the threatened jobs, Mr Kerr said.
While yesterday's talks were "generally constructive", public pressure would hold the key to swaying a decision in favour of the wider South Dunedin community and Hillside workers.
"It is clear that we have to maintain the pressure on the Government to save these jobs and the future of the workshops," Mr Kerr said.
KiwiRail chief executive Jim Quinn left the door open to reverse the proposed job cuts when asked whether the state-owned enterprise was considering retaining the 40 jobs at Hillside. The size of the Hillside workforce always fluctuated, in accordance with available work, he said.
"As we have previously stated, this is a process to ensure we match resources to work demand. We are still undergoing consultation and until this is complete we won't make any decisions, as continuing this process with our affected staff is our priority," Mr Quinn said.
Mr Kerr said securing a deadline extension to the employment talks was an important step in the campaign.
KiwiRail had agreed to provide more information, which the union would use to make a submission on why the jobs should not go, in return for a commitment from Hillside delegates to address productivity concerns, he said.
The RMTU organiser described Hillside as "the beating heart of South Dunedin's engineering cluster" - dozens of small and medium-size businesses relied on the outfit for their livelihoods, Mr Kerr said.
Campaigners hoped the Octagon rally would send a message to the Government, which, as the shareholder of KiwiRail, had a responsibility to Hillside workers and Dunedin, Mr Kerr said.
"The business community, the mayor and the local opposition MPs are supporting us, and the people of Dunedin have been tremendous. All we have to do is convince the Government."
