FORY HOUR WEEK

Chronicle (Levin), 11 October 1946, Page 7

FORY HOUR WEEK

—Press Asspciation

fiiil For Coastal Seamen BREAKING COURT'S AUTH0R1TY

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, Oet/10. Hon. J. O'Brien, moying tiie second reading of the Shippih'k and * Seamen Amendment-Bill ixi the HouSe »f Bepresentatives, said - tlie -measure :gay e the seamen on the New Zealand register, a 40-hour week and brought thein into line with othei* workcrs. - Mr. G. H. Mackley: Gan the Minister say when-he intends to, make it. oporative.f Mr. O 'Brien reiilled that the Bili would operate as "sbdh as a proclamktion was published in the Gazette. Mr. W. J. Polsou said the Bill was a gesture t.o the Labquiv.uioveuient, .showing that the (iovernihent desired that' everyoiie should be cbvered' by the 4U' kour week. Whab" thd Bili ditf, how". ever, was to create -aprathcr luclicrons position and while it set up a 4U-liour week for seamen- at sea^ -it also, set up machinery for when the 40-hour week did not operate. The Bill was uo 'kiore tlian a gesture to the seamen and the only benefit they would derive from it was when they were in port. Mr. W. yullivan said the Bill had not been referred to the Labour Bills Committee as it should have, to enable submissions to be made by the sliipowners and by the seamen, without going to the Arbitration Court. Mr. yullivan asked wkether the report was correct that certain , things for which tlie seamen had asked were not agreed to by tlie owners and that the Bill had been brought down as the result in order to give the men what they had asked for. If tlie matter had been dealt with in tlie Arbitration Gourt there would liave been 110 need for the Bill at all. The men would still work overtime. There »vas neitlier the aecommodation nor tlie stalf to enable the actual 40-liour week to be worked on most sliip>s and tlie eifect would be that tlie men would receive more overtime. The result would be that costs would pile up for tlie shipping industry and tlie increase niust eventually be passed to the consumers. it was a, reliable estiniate that tliis Bill would cost the sliipowners £2oU,000 yearly. Mr. yullivan said tlie seamen were still receiving tlie war rislc bonus and war risk gratuity amounting to £12 inontlily. Would tliis continue even when tlie Bill was made operative er was tlie Bill the nieans of providing that this wurtime gain by tlie seamen would continue under legislative sancLionf Wliat chance would our shipping companies have of conipeting witii overseas comj>aiiies if the ■'•costs were piled up against them4 iii tliis way 't Mr. yullivan asked yif this measure were tlie start of a deliberate poiicy of breaking down the authority of the Court of Arbitration? Mr. E. B. Corbett (Egmont) said this was not the fiist instanee of a.Minister interferrng in iiidust-rial ali'airs and iiot always to the benelit 'of the workers. The Mmister had iliterfered in the recent sharcmilkers dis|)ute and the ef1 fecfAvas so sqfious fqr the.sharemilkers that many o.f tljehi would, in consequence, be unablc to .bcconie independent farmers. Now a sliipxiing' industry was to have,, its ijosts increased by £250,000 without any increase in goods or services. .The Bil| probably had been snonsored by Mr. Fi F. Walsh on behaif of the yeameii's linion. It would be Mr. Waish who had given Mr. O 'Brien his rkling Orders. Governnient voice: You get yours from Mr. Mulholland. Mr. Corbett referred to the Walsh report and said Mr. WaJsJi had been facing two ways. His attitudo in sponsoriug tliis gain for the seamen was in consistent with his slaiidpoint in his report presentod to the country sume uionths ago. Mr. Thorn asked. Mr. Corbett if he would refuso a 40-hour week to tlie seamen? Mr. Corbett: I jWouId place tlieir claims before the Arbitration Court. Mr O'Brieu, in rejily, said the present case could not go before tlie Arbitration Court and so far as. the Act rvas concerned, it had to go to England to re ceive Koyal asseiit before it becaniu law. In sonic cases assent had been withheld. Great Britain still paid the war risk. Mr. Broadfoot: Conditions are not coniparable. There are still huudreds of niines around the British coast. Mr. W. Sullivan: What about tlie bonus? Mr. O 'Brien said that- that matter would be settled liere, as in Great Britain, by negotiating an agreemont vvitn the seamen. The Minister said .the estiniate oi the Marine Department was that the cost of giving the 40-hour week to the seamen would be between £00,000 aud £70,000 yearly. "Mr. Corbett: Mr. Walsli must be a long way out in his aritlunetic. Mr. W. Sullivan:. Will the shipping companies have to increase tlieir freight charges? i\[r. O'Brien: They may have to or get a little more.^ubsidy. , The Ifinister said' he did jiot want to see New Zealand seamen ,on> the same plane as seamen 011 some foreign ships. A judge of the Arbitration, Court could not give a 40-hour week to the seamen. That could only be woi'lted out by agreeineiit between tlie sliipowners and seamen tliemselves. Mr. O'Brien said the Bill did not apply to tlie barque Pamir wliicli would reallv need a second erew before tlie 40-hour week coukl be made workable, The Bill was put through the remaining stages and pa'ssed.