Effect Of Five-Day Week

Chronicle (Levin), 2 December 1946, Page 5

Effect Of Five-Day Week

-Press Association

ALL SAILING.S SET BACK

By Telegraph—

AUCKLAND, Dec. 1. With its wharves crowdecl with shippiug- the Auckland waterfront 011 Saturday morning began the herculean task of adjusting itself to the 4G-ho.ur week following the decison of the Auckland braneh o.f the Waterside Workers ' Union on Priday to. work only a five-day , week of eight hours a day. The entire waterfront was practically at a standstill on Saturday morning. Eight overseas ships, three of them loading for Britain and, four large intereolonial or coastal vessels, were in port. By tomorrow morning two ships, the liner Ruahine and ■ phosphate* steamer Samstrae, will be at anchor in the stream. The 40-hour week deeision has meant the loss of a thircl of the port's working time. Eor months past most of the berthage space has heen in use all the time and the port officials consider that the los.s of 19 hours a week will wipc out their narrow inargin of vacant berths. If the decison of. the union, remains unaltered a general revision of shippiug timoBibles on the coast is inevitable. Alreadv all sailings from the port have been set back, the postponement being two clays in the. case of the Union Company's island passenger ship Matua which will now sail for Sttva on Thursdav. The loss oi' thr.ee hours ivork daily will mean a substantial alteration in the schedules of overseas ships which are at present listed to sail from the port in the next three weeks.