Mr. Barnes' Allegation At Public Meeting

Chronicle (Levin), 5 July 1948, Page 5

Mr. Barnes' Allegation At Public Meeting

Press Associatianj

(Per

AUCKLAND, July 4. Allegations of ' 'double-crossing' ' by the Water front Industry Commission- iu Motititp'ark disp'Ute axld Sii^^e^tions tlikt incidlnts leadihg Up fd trtidbie showed forces at work seeking to crusii trade unionism, were ixiade "by Mr. H:Barnes, pfesident of the Watferfront Wo'fkefS' Uilion ili an address in the Tbwn ilali tonight. The hall was packed and although there were few adverse , interjectiohs liiany of Mr. Bafhes' statehients were - greeted with ciieefs. Re sp'oke f of ah nbut ahd a haif. The Mayor,. Mr. J.. A. C. Allum, pre oided and the audience represented o-any sections of tlie cditiifltihity With a stroiig fepresdhtatiori df wkterSide wo'rkers. •Mr. Barnfes, Who was greeted with applause, wiiistiing and hdbing, said there wefe Sbrhe p'edple ifl high pldfces who would do eveiythirig possiblfe to" stippress fteedcini of Spee'ch but Auckland tould congfatulatfe itself on having a iirst Uitizeh witn tne cotii'age to practice these High principies. ■ Mr. BarrieS dealt with the rate of work 011 the wateffront. The rate sef bv ship OWners for loading butter' ber'ore the war.was 558 boxes per gang per houi1, he said, while the aetual rate in 1945-4(5 was 673 boxes and in 1946-47 it was 738 boxes. The Auckland average was 780 boxes which was riot orily tlife highest for any port in New Zealand but also the - highest rate ;ft>r .oading. butter in any port in;the World. ' ' Tliese are not my figures. They are the figures Of Mr. McLagau's De partment," said Mr. Barnes aniid ap plause. He said the basic rate for cheese was 210 crates. The 1945-46 figure was 253 crates and the 1946-47 results 259 crates. Mutton aiid lainb loading was earried Out in 1946-47 at the rkte of 794 car cases per gang per hour compared witli 758 the year "before ahd the basic rate of 550 carcases proposed before thtwar. Watersid.ers had earned £i, 000,000 in bonuses since 1940 for exceeding tlio .rates of loading set down by.employers. Mr. Barnes frequently ehallenged the Minister of Labour on statements ,he has made. He said the Minister knew that applications about the state of the hatches had been made before this dispute. Also the letter from the Marine Department stating that pro vision could be made in the General Harbour Regulatipns for making hatches in slarbs, had not dome, as the Minister stated, from a junipr ^.pfiieei but from the secretary pS the MarineD.epartment, Mr. W. C. Smilih, jhilhsei^;,* ' Mr. Barnes -deijied^ thftt* ^'"'.'^8;' weight alone 6f th.e hatches thaOhrit: tered but this factor, combined with' others, that might result in a worker falling to his death or SeriouS irijury down a hatch. "So that when we Sde tMe weight lifting chaig.pion with the hatch balaneed on his arms that two other people have Jifted for him, we do not take much notice of that," said Mr. Barnes. Stating that he had not come to the Town Hall' a's a quiz kid, Mr. Barhfe|v said that iL'fhe ' Minister of LabouF wanted his 31 questions ariswered, he should engage the Wellington.. Town Hall for one 'nighF next week. Mr. Barnes said he would be willihg to oblige then and also in the Christchurch Town Hall or anywhere else in the country. A challenge to the Minister to shard a national broadcast to the people oi New Zealand, was also made by Mr. Barnes.