Shipowners Also Lodge Protest

Chronicle (Levin), 10 November 1948, Page 7

Shipowners Also Lodge Protest

press AssociatiorJ-

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WELLINGTON j Nov. 9. Shipowners suppoited the views ex* pressed at the annual conferCnee of tlie New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation about the payment- % of • tlirfmouey rates 011 the waterfrdht, saicl Captaiu M. T. Hoim,, gefneral • secretary of the New Zealand Waterside Einployers ' Association, today. It - waa admitted that the paeldng of ,Some commodities nowadays niight le'ave Bouietfcing to be desired and strong representations had been made by thre shipowners to 'the shippers, concerned towards an improvement in packing. It sliould be clearly understood, and this liAd been emphasised to the union, that there was stiil a grave worldryvide. shortage of certain types of packing, uiaterial. Notwithstanding this, however, a great proportion of carg'oes were arriving today in packages substantially the same as pie.war and in . sofar as bulk cargoes, were eoncerned. the question of packing did not arise. Nevertkeless, waterside workers handling reasonably packed cargo . dnd bulk cargoes, were claiming and receiving dirt money payments which were out of all proportion to • prewar payments or to the actual inconvenience suffered through the handling of such cargoes. "The shipowners agree that reasonable reeompense ghould. .be .^made to waterside workers • for 'liandling unusually dirtv or obno'xious cargo and their repre§entatives genumeiy attempt to reaeh an agreement on fair rates, ' * said Captain Holm. "The pbsitioxg v i>t however, that waterside workers 1 are being awarded dirt money" payments oul of all proportion to wliat. is really merited and beyond anything even thought of by ather ass'ociated workers liandling the same 'commodl" ties. ' ' •/.x ' ,