Waterside Incomes Of More Than £700 Yearly

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 4, 4 October 1950, Page 5

Waterside Incomes Of More Than £7OO Yearly

Seventy-one waterside workers at the four main ports had an average income of between £7OO and £BOO in the year ended March 31, according to the annual report of the Waterfront Industry Commission. Five of these men worked on the Auckland waterfront, 48 at Wellington, 12 at Lyttelton and six at Dunedin.

In an analysis of average earnings the report shows that 1704 men at these ports were in the £6OO or £7OO income group, and 643 were in the £4OO to £SOO group. At the other end of the scale 733 earned less than £IOO and 295 between £IOO and £2OO.

The earnings of 2238 men at Auckland totalled £1,057,087, of 2280 at Wellington £936,143, of 177 at Lyttelton £400„000 and of 370 at Dunedin £189,246. A total labour force of 7446 at all, ports earned £3,419,583. Seventy-one per cent of the total number of unionists employed earned £4OO or more during 1949-50 and accounted for 89 per cent of the total earnings. Their average earnings were £577 a year. In 1949-50, 69 per cent of the total number of unionists employed earned morfe than £4OO and their average earnings were £545 a. year. The average weekly earnings at all ports for unionists paid through the commission’s office increased by 16/2 to £ll/17/4 for 1949-50. In -the past two years there has been an increase of £l/-/10 a week in the average income.

Increases in average weekly earnings ranged from 5/9 at Port Chalmers to £l/7/2 at Wellington. For secondary ports the increases were from 5/10 at Bluff to £l/13/- at Gisborne and £l/15/10 at Wanganuk