THE WHARFMEN'S WINTER.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1697, 13 March 1913, Page 4

THE WHARFMEN'S WINTER.

BAD TIMES' PREDICTED. A winter of poor employment, is foretold for the wharf labourers of Wellington by the secretary of tho Waterside Workers' Union (Mr. G. G. Farland), unless a large number of the men now looking for work ,on the wharf take tilno by the forelock and seek other employment. Mr. Farland told a reporter yesterday that the union had posted a notice in tho men's waiting room at tho wharf advising any watersidors who can secure other employment to do so before the winter sets in, as there is no hope of reasonably good' wages being earned during the winter by the number of men now available.

Further explaining the position, Mr. I'arland said that the union had about two thousand men On its books, just about twice as many as can find profitable employment oil tho wharf, save at the busiest times. The trouble of too many men seeking employment on the wharf, Jlr. larland stated, is a perennial one, but now threatens to become aggravated. This ho attributes partly to' the slaughtermen's strike, which considerably reduced the volume of employment available in country districts. In addition to this, shearers, harvesters, and others have concluded their seasonal employment, and some of them, at any rate, are now looking for work on tho wharf. Tho position seems to be, in fact, that "the wharf" is a favourite resort for . displaced labour of all descriptions, and tlmt tlio possibility of profitable employment for men permanently engaged in waterside work is thereby greatly reduced. Mr. Farland is advising as many men as possible to seek employment in tho country. He is of opinion (hat if the number of waterside workers on the local wharf were reduced by a thousand, most of the remaining thousand would bo able to obtain steady, work during the winter and earn about .£2 125., 6d. a week each' On the other hand, if the numbers arc not reduced, Mr. Farland considers that many watersidors will shortly find themselves unable to earn more than 30s a week, if they succeed in obtaining' as much.