SHIPPING CO. VIEWPOINT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1968, 27 January 1914, Page 6

SHIPPING CO. VIEWPOINT.

THEIR DIFFICULTY. TOO FEW NEW HANDS OFFER. Imputation made by Mr. R. Fletcher at last meeting of the Harbour Board, viz., that shipping companies were not observing the rule regarding preference jneu was challenged' by a representative of tho. New. Zealand Shipping Company in an interview with a Dominion reporter-yesterday. "Most"of tho trouble,".he said, "has been caused through the preference men Hailing-to wear their badges, making i.t impossible for tho foremen to distinguish old from new. There is another trouble also. Take tho case of the TuTakina, which arrived hero on January 21. She required 140 men, but, up till 8 a.rii.i we could get only 35 Arbitrationigts. If we had engaged tho men at 7.30 a.m. _ in accordance with tho agreement,. ,wo would not have had half 'that number. *We left„*on'.tiie wharf abput 40' members "of' the old union who; wore engaged to work the Huninui,' ivhich.~arriv.ed f .a .few.-.,hours Inter. For both of 'these [ships wo engaged 'every 'Arbitrdtionist- offering. '•'flic .ijiferencc from Mr. Fletcher's statement (he continued) was that tho oversea shipping...companies -were, , not carrying :.out their agreement "honbur- 1 ably, but the oversea companies are as anxious as any other party to tho agreement to see that 1 ; it''is "carried out properly. - Those'conversant' I with work on the wharf will easily understand why such a large number of men go to the Harbour Board'for'work.

"For tho week ending January 17, our books ;show the. following figures: January 12, ohMmnds;' 130;-new hands, 80; January 13, old'hands, 128; now hands, 82:; ;Jamiary'l4',"old"hands, 105; new hands, GS; January'ls, old"hands, (iO; new'hands, 44 ; January 16, old hands 23; new hands, 24; January 17; old hands, ,16; new hands, ; 14. If Mr! Fletcher Jidd wished to" st'ato'the position fairly he should at least have ap-proached-the oversea- companies to ascertain the , factsabout.,'..their -labour. So far iijs we are concerned wo were not approached-by- any official of the Harbour Board-for information. ■ ■

"In order to impress upon the secretary or'the Waterside Workers' Union the difficulty wo had •in sorting out preference jnen, he was asked to attend the' wharf, when the Tnrakina's man were being engaged, so that ho could judge for himself as to what was being clone. He did not attend, so that apparently lie-was satisfied that we were acting fairly. Indeed, ho said eo to me."