Strong Criticism Of Wharf Happening

Chronicle (Levin), 3 June 1948, Page 2

Strong Criticism Of Wharf Happening

The setting up of a Royal Oommission to go into whau is xiappent ing on tne wharyes of New Zea-t land was called for by tne National •Pai'oy member for tne district-, ivir. J. j. ivianer, when speaking q.p, a public metoing in Te Huro;on 'iuesaay mgnt. , •„ I . "I say the present conditions on the wharves cannot be aiiowed to. , contmue," ' deciaxe'd the speaker. | "Mr. Waish is iea'aing a caxnpcxign for mcreased prociucoion as an aui Ito Britain. I know Mr. Waish very Iwen, but I don c thmk he is the j right man to urge' tne larmers to increase production wnlle a boorie'neck is creaced and continued on ■ uixc wnarves of this counory. For jover a year our cool soorcs have been ciuttered up with a great deal I of outter, cheese, meat, wool and jother essentiais for Brnain, whicn the "wharnes' will not load into the the 'wharnes' wJl not load into the The commission wourd have to be a real f act finding one, wnich would tell the people of the country wliat was going on on New.Zealand's wharves. Quoting figar.es to illustrate his argument, Mr. Maher told the meeting how in the year 1937 wharf gangs were unloading. 10 tons oi goods per gang per paifci" hour. In 1938 this figure had dropped to 8.6 tons, whi4e in 1947 a 33 per cent. reduction had been ma'de to bring it down to seven tons per hour. "And we are -asked to increase production in order to aid Britain," he commented: On the same basis in the loading of boxes of butter 15.1 tons werehandled by one gang every hour, iwhile in 1947 only 11.98 tons were handled. An additional two snngs lloaded by each gang every hour ! would make up this leeway, said Mr. Maher. Today the waterside workers were being paid a good rate and they only worked two hours and then "spelled" for two hours. This meant that they got paid for toui hours work, but really only did two. What would happen, ...asked the speaker, if the farmers d,emanded to be paid for two box.es df* butter for every one they produced.'. Was it' equitable? The least df-Bp 'oi rain while they were' working; dndon went the tar.paulins and' they stopped work, not forgetting thatthey were paid while. it; .rakietL "What would ndppen if the farmers and transport drivers stopped work for every dropL'of rain," he asked: Continuing, Mr, Maher told how, recently a ship ,ha'd come into Wan-^r ganui loadea * with cement for; industry. Trucks were, he under-1 stood, sent to that port from Levin,! and Foxton to collect the cementso that builders could complete , badly needed houses. ' Then, up came a "Sco-tch mist" and, 'the-i watersi'de workers stopped' Vw1prk j and the trucks had to be sent hdnie-i empty, with a resultant waste' of ja ! great deal of petrol 'and' ma(n hours. Should a group of farmiers decide to load a ship up with cement and , bring it across -from ! the South Island, there would be a j general strike throughout New Zea- ! land. They just woul'd not dare i take the action f,or fear of the consequences.