Food Parcels May Suffer By Action of Carpenters

Chronicle (Levin), 17 February 1949, Page 4

Food Parcels May Suffer By Action of Carpenters

WELLINGTON, Feb. 17. A threat to food cargoes for Britain has developed at the port ,of Wellington today as a consequence of «the decision of 'shipwork carpenters to cease work until their wage rates are adjusted. * The executive of the Wellington Waterside Workers' Union met this mornfng to eonsider the position of the shipwork carpenters, who form a small section of the uhion, and it announced later that it was issuing no statement at present. An offrcial of the union said, however, that union members had hot ceased work in sympathy with the shipwork carpenters but it was inevitable that a good many watersiders whose numbers could not yet be estimated, would not be able to work because of the carpenters' action. He explained that work by carpenters was necessary before ordinary watersiders couM perform their duties. For instance, carpenters had to put dunnage down before gangs could load certain types of frozen produce. In the absence of carpenters, the watersiders had necessarily to discontinue this kind of loading. Some ships were already affected, he stated, but the union had no information about the extent of the sfcoppage. ■— O— ww— i ■ J ■ i !■ ».