MARINE OFFICERS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 993, 7 December 1910, Page 6

MARINE OFFICERS.

;;ffHE: new' award- in Australia.: AND -COMMENT, ' --" Mr./Justice-Higgins's award in-the caso ;; in which the/ships' officers connected with ■ (the- -Merchant; Ser'vico Guild ~ proceeded pagiiihst the ship-owners for higher salarjijies.in tho Federal Arbitration Court is tithe,;subject..of" much discussion among k Shipping folk. ,"'-,'■' ■.■■■•■■■ [•"■> Tho. local managers of the two com[i'panies which trade.between. NewiZealand, Knnd Australia—the Union Steam ' Ship f; .Company;' and the Huddart-Parker Pro- [>■ jprietary (Messrs. W. A.- Kennedy -and ■ C. v-.Jones)Avero waited, on. yesterday, but '■stated'that I 'so.far theyhad.not had.tirno fcto.go into": tho matter, .and much import-t-aht.detail had been omitted in'the cable pniessage. V." ; y; ; : ; -.-.., s;::.'A. gentleman; who is very much interr.,ested ..in.Vthe,.' matter- said lie. did not ;:--6ee how the award could bo nia'do work-' stable. The matter of salaries was an j.:! easy., one-Ho adjust/" Generally tho award.; [salaries'. represented a small increase in !■■•- .the -qaso-.of' tho. masters,;-and, a .substan- !>. tial■ oho; for the officers'. On one of the' IJ most popular of the ; Sydney : Wellington- Melbourne- steamers (a vessel 'of over 5000 Lvtons)-the'master was at present receiving [••'-. about .£42,: the chief officer ,£l6, tho secpond .'£l3,-! and: the- third £11 per- month, f:'Under the new award the master would fcget, £43,; the chief officer £20,; the second; £17; and the -third £14. ,'■ Another t. .case was-quoted in wliich the captain of i ; an .intercolonial steamer below 3000 t; tons register wasgetting£3s'per month., f;-Under tho new 'award ho will only get rs'£32. :;-],::;.;_■■ , -~,,' : ~ , £'',\. What our informant" holds'.to bo "tho-i |,'most serious provision of the new award iris the eight hours day and tho overtime ?.„-;j>ay. He says: "I can hardly see how I: it.can be;made workable. Assuming that j; an officer has done four hours on duty V.'-.getting'into port-in the early moaning (l : -'a'nd is" needed that night'for bridge duty f .'after. tho steamer has, left-port, it would (:.mean that .he would-be. off'duty the whole. J' .'time the, ship was in port, and if that' f was. the' caso he would- have no idea IV',where the cargo was stowed.or how; the -ship was 'packed,'unless ho was given .ithe.information from those woriing the ;; Jship. - Then to, pursue the same line he jl'- would arrive in ■ Lyttelton or Napier the : ; ,.next morning, by which time he would i-:jbe due for 'another' day off., Furthermore • ;jit.is specifically set down that 'every Ei-master arid officer should be entitled-to

!;''iabsence from' the vessel' at his home port £ -from one hour after.the'vessel.was safely i'.';'berthed to two//hours before ' the time r- fixed : for. sailing.' -Halcyon days, were [?.:ahead, for. the menVunder these condi- (■! /tiohs. ■•' Take, for._;instance, the Sydney j. " iboat;;iShe ties vprr'at 10. a.m.-'on the [..-"Wednesday, and all officers who N live'here, ;;'. may.leave at 11 aim.; andrhot-go near i/the vessel again until a couple 1 of hours (.:-.before the. vessel leaves the next'evching./■it would, be -all .right, .too,, for the. offip/ce'rs- of tho tig - colliers from'-Newcastle ;4.Tvhich take two>.or three, days to dis 7 . f- charge, .--- '{•■' .-.,-.: -~ /'/' How on earth, they are going.to'adjust |;;.tke overtime-is a puzzle. : There 'are al-i..-ways emergencies at sea, which call for ►'■extra; duty.-' In'dirty weather'off., a coast. r,.';a captain, if; conscientious, might I ;J5 t0.16 honrs on.the bridgeoff and, V- ior the, futiirei'.he is to" get ss.- an' hour k.for aU. over,.the; eight>.honir's l .a. day. If, j She. wants. a, : :littie -'extra money'.to buy }'; Christmas boxes-for...the children -or has

C - -the - get-rich-'quict: habit;' ihe will; 'find [■'..quite a number .of 'excuses-for/creating i'v-overtime, and who is.toi-check him?. The. !:f master is a .check'on---the'officers-'(who 'A. : are .to, get- 2s. hour overtime), [.-.but. the sldpperris-lord,over all.:. If tho :A?aew/awafd-holds, tho : sety- will become -a •TV'de'al morei popular as a, profession, than fiv'St, is .-now.'!'-;;.!. ■-.-.' .'.'■■ '■',■'■.}''■:■''■' !-.,'."One thing which'.,may be taken for J,, granted, is.'|hat it will not affect the KCshipping'; companies. ■'•'■ They", will .merely ■.'-'adjust fores, .and freights,, and'-.the.long-[v.Eufie'ring- public will have N -to. pay the '; piper; as itv does every time.",' i .' :/..■-.;The-award; will'Jo'hly apply to inter-" H colonial boats. Masters and officers of .: coastal. boats in New Zealand are not i-- : :'affected. . '•« '■ -~.,•'.

p; ■::': '■""'■"■' VIEWS OF-OFFICERS. - . &>.'■ ;i;r"A STEP IN THE RIGHT \;;/:\' ,.--; .^DIRECTION.';\" ....-'. !; : ;v';.The new award of. the; Federal Arbitra.fe.tion 'Court? governing' rates of pay to •:; jpfficors on inter-State vessels has natur-r-jally excifced.'keen interest among.members j'.'of the profession affected.;- -A reporter, I. 4.who visitod-'vessels in port; yesterday with fo'a.view"to. obtaining an expression of,opint.aon froni^officers upon-the terms of the : ; mew award,'found the same opinion every-' r'.;'iwhere prevailing. "It is a ste£ in 'the p. Tight direction,- and one. that the Mcrch■;,/ant Service:'Guildf upon unimpeachable [..grounds, has been.'trying to induce for ft.years" stated briefly the general verdict. ;;,'. The a«w '.scale of pay involves in. most ". cases a considerable increase, it lias re-. ,-.- (marked by., one officer. : Moreover, the'" v.'-award grants -four extra holidays per year ; :'•j? 11 "' fa* provision for; overtime payment i as a concession.,that .will be appreciated i> £?.'-, all officers. -"■ Conditions; oh ■ tho . inter- ;! State vessels will now-be nmoh superior. -"-•' 1?; those obta.ining..ou.,vessels. engaged in i/'the AewvZealand coastal trade, but'nb- >' |ir'. ns ? an ** do^6 nieantime to remove L.'lthis anomaly,, as officers on coastal ships i;'lare.working.,un'der an "which ; dees not expue.'until the middle of,next!;|year. So far'; as.Jho,.Union'Company -is ', .concerned, the' new affects ■''about I- fr.° > c , e F s out-Pf-a.'total..number-'6f;somo- ..:-. lining- like 300; roasters, and' mates'.' . I •,, .'.Everything.'iri.ithe'n'ew'.'award tends in ' ; |-the. right,direction," said, one'officer who ,;;.'Jwas' questioned, •',- "but. there ' aro a' few ;.,. For instance, it is pro- .;■-.■; Tide- that. the. second officer of a pas-r.-.'Benger vessel of oyer.'4ooo tons shall rc!;...ceiye.<£l per month more'than the.chief sj;inate[Of a cargo, boat of less than 2000 !..itons. At present tho chief mate -of the <.;.,£maller, vessel receives- aflarger salary, j,',.and this, is only fair.-for. he holds tlio \:?2P™- ■ .responsible position. Of course :';SWW, is an all-round rise -under,the new .: .--., ■;■■

K ; *It, was;pointed out that' an" apprentice pay. a. premium -, -of. at least MO • and work for four years -.-without payment./- All of outfit =:, and schooling-have to •bo borne bv the ;.-;.- apprenfaco,or.,his.guardians. 'Havine ob-i,;-:;tainedr his second mate's certificate, ' the [■-,-young-officer, has to serve' a.leugthy pro- • ; bation m the junior grades before he can ;. .obtain a- chief mate's certificate. The ... Passing-of tho sailing (ship: has.' been- nca considerable reduction in'' <: .the available supply of officers, and * [-..number of companies' aro now trainin" .;• apprentices with "a"view- to retaining their' i, they obtained certifl- ';■;, Sites.. The Shaw-Savill . Company, the |-.-.Elliman. Company, and tho Union Castlo :.> Liner, for example, now hold in joint j/./possession, tn-o, training ships, the Med./■way and Port Jackson, each of which ;•; carries forty, or fifty cadets. Even here ;>.however,.the training of.tho embryo of-, lancer is.expensive. One. officer interviewed r.-yesterday stated that-the'cost of training ;«.. to a cadet .in tho ships named was about >": ™ •* m° .5, r ? t ,y« a in .tho second, I ;; ioo in, the third, and £10 in the fourth *■;■:. year. ....-: .

;H.-.."Thcre.is no easy way into the mercanIV". -Jj!P marine, was his concluding remark ::: ; . and: it is only..right that'a fair liviV SV.wago should, be paid to men who havo :,;..■. gone through a long and expensive an- !,:,-. prenticeship to the sea." iV.- Unqualified, approval of tho now award ' : ,:and a hope that it might ere long extend (, -to the coastal trade were, expressed by a !,i ;Chief mate who gave from his experience f!i■°"?,.?. r two striking examples of tho disr, .abilities under . which officers now lnb!v-°, UT- "I ramo.across one ease," he said, ''in which a second mate.was receiving ['■";'less. money,than an ordinary seaman.' In ;.-,.the same ship the boatswain'was drawin"' ;,;.■', a ..bigger wage than the chief mate. The |r,C fact that the boatswain and ordinary seap.V.man were receiving' overtime ■ payment. P: while their officers; were. not. accounted U .'ifcr ' the- discrepancy in both cases." ; v-This: officer-was very strongly, of opin-. '•'■'"■.fori' that the", work.,carried, out by his f;-; class merited• a':'.'higher' rate of pay,' and !j; the provision in.the new award regard-. '..'.■".lng overtime.payment in port elicited -his 1

■'';: unqualified approval. The arrangement •■'•,: granting.an.officer. 1 a "watch below".dura day'iii-port he.characterised withf\\\out reserve as;practically worthless. No j.. ..conscientious .chief mate, ho stated. i wonld : absent himself' from' duty while ..'general cargo was being stowed, and as ;;.,'. a result.the allowance of a inttch below Y: \became absolutely a: dead letter so. far ' ..as chief .mates'were concerned. ■'.; The cabled resume- of the Federal '.; iward. published yesterday, is somewhat

obscuie in its reference to overtime payment il'or .masters, .of vessels. The overtime.' payment' of officers 1 plainly applies' to cargo-working in port, but it is the practice with masters 'on -reaching port to cea.?e active, dirty, although they rc.main wjithin call and responsible for tho general; welfare of their ships." • HOW DO SAILERS FARE?

WILL THEY HAVE TO GO? 'In- the ' cablegram received yesterday the.' word "vessel" appears throughout the report of Mr. Justice Higgins's judgment, .and .this became the suhiect of commout yesterday among shipping folk m Wellington, for the question was immediately asked, ".What docs-the word •actually m«in? Vessel is applicable to sailers as well as to steamers in the interstate cargo trade." In the opinion of many, if .tho -master of a sailing craft, under 1000 tons, that trades between the Australian States'and New' Zealand, for the purpose of carrying,-,cargoes of, timber and coal from the various ports, have? to bo paid £24, and a mate £15 a month, it that, tho,. day. for. tho, abolition of .the ; "wind-jammer" on Australasian coasts has come at last. For instance, according'"'to"the report'" to hand, • tho owners of small, sailing craft, such as schooners and scows, .which are trading between Australia and New-Zealand will ■have to' pay their officers just as much as the masters and mates of barques and barquentines receive, , therefore tho com-monly-oxprGssod opinion is that the small craft,;and perhaps tho largo ones too for 'that matter, will be missing from tho [ trade shortly. An. ■ explanation may be forthcoming. after yesterday's:; deliberations, for it'is. stated-in the aforementioned "cablegram that the award was to have been argued as to details. Perhaps the word "details" will' be made to' apply to sailing vessels, and some special agreement may have been come to regarding those-officers-in chargo of this class of cargo trader, but yesterday some doubt, existed in the minds. of those interested in sailing; vessels as to whether the award is intended for one or both class of ships. •■* ■• • .FURTHER POINTS DISCUSSED, . THE, CASE. ADJOURNED. By TeleeraDli—Press Association—Conyrisht. (Rec. December 6, 9 p.m.). ; ■' • .Sydney, December C. ' In tho Commonwealth Arbitration Court to-day, Mr. Justice Higgins met tho representatives, of tho parties in tho Merchant Service Guild case, and discussed the questions of an eight-hour day in ■ port,; and. a.; month's, notice of the ter-mination-of engagements, both . of, which had .been brought up by. the respondents. .'Nothing was decided, and the further consideration of the case was adjourned for a week to Melbourne. •