CITIZENS' DEFENCE COMMITTEE TAKE ACTION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2994, 3 February 1917, Page 10

CITIZENS' DEFENCE COMMITTEE TAKE ACTION

EMPLOYERS' FIRM ATTITUDE, ■jV,:.' An. important development in con- ;!:".' nection'.with the waterside dispute was announced last night.. A copy of the following letter,; addressed to the Well- -, ' ington Waterside Workers' Union, was handed to The Dominion' :— . '.Wellington Employers', Farmers', and ;-. Citizens' Defence Committee. '.-■■■'■'; -' National Mutual Buildings, Customhouse Quay, Wellington, ■'■ ■ .'.' February 2, 1917. ■ The Secretary, ;'-..;' .Wellington Waterside Workers' Union, .!•';•-.' Queen's Chambers, 'Wellington. , Dear sir,—l have to advise you that ■' in' consequence of, the failure of your ■■/./union Ho' secure the observance by its .;•' members of -the of the 'In-. ■ dust'rial. Agreement now in force, the ' ; - dispute .between .the N.Z. Waterside .WorkersV.Federation, 'your ..union, and the employers of..watersido labour in ■"•■. Wellington-has been referred to the above committee to deal with.

That, committee has decided, in view of..the refusal of-your union to await -the'decision of either the Conciliation Council or Arbitration Court regarding ithe-'inatters-. in'-.'dispute,- arid tho evident organisation .to; prevent the handling of cargo ori the -s.s.——. and s.s. ——./in accordance with the provisions of the .Industrial Agreement still in force, and the usual custom of this port, as well, as tho; evident determination to enforce .some at "least of the demands as to new working conditions made by the* Waterside Workers'-'Fed-eration at .the .recent, conference, that until the members .of ;jour union are ...prepared'....to>.work, all .ships trader : the--terms .' of-.; the current agreement, employers will be compelled toihave recourse r to such; voluntary labour as may be;available:!•- '- 'With .'reference to;; tbe resolution passed .by--the meeting of your union held'last night,,'to the effect that.the meeting .'.. "';■ '.'■• • '/.'. .;; -. ... "emphatically denies.the st-ate- ■ imenfrmadebythe employers that ' in'e' men impeded or refused to' . work on -troopships or ships carrying produce commandeered by the Imperial authorities, nor is it their intention so'to do;"-' : - I am instructed to say that therofnsal of the members of your union "to cargo on ione vessel has already caused ;d6lay^irtbß i^6liOTgo'~of:; that vessel; and a consequent delay in her loading ■with produce for the Imperial authorities. . ;In this connection we wish to remind youV that tho agreement, in" clause 38 (a)'.■ provides: .?;'. "That tho work of tho employers ,'at all ports shall in future bo car- ' jied on in,£he same manner as l-prior to August .26/1915," *iid, further, that clause 38 (d) provides: . ' •:■'. —•",' : '-■>;' ''.':' "That the work'of the employers ; jshall proceed in-, tho customary manner, and snallnot on any ac- , count whatsoever bo impeded. It is agreed that if_ any dispute •'•.■ or difference) shall arise ... every such dispute or difference as the same shall arise shall be referred to a;:eommittec:to. be composed, of ';'■-, three-.represontatives of ;thc anion. at the - port.concerned and three re- -. presentative's-: of:; the .employers, . •for their decision." , Your union has so far ignored the Teminder. given, to you some days ago, by',the manager of the.' Wellington Waterside Employment : Association, that'any disputes arising,-especially »i the:present tinie, should.he dealt with as'provided for in tlie agreement as shown above. This is evidenced by the fact that your members have committed breaches of the agreement during the current'week in connection with the following matters: : — '(1) Refusing to accept' engagements for 'work'-at tho hours specified by. the agreement i (2) Restricting number of boxes of butter in any one hoist to 30, instead of 48. as- is. usual. j, (3) Refusing to "dump" cargo., i.e., to land cargo in nets. ■;•'(4) Refusing te work after o p.m. ' when required. The refusal to load more than thirty boxes of butter in each net on one ■vessel caused considprablo:delay and inconvenience, .and resulted in_ a largequantity being, .short-shipped" by 'that steamer,, and. it'was ascertained by actual observation that the 30-box sling resulted in men. working for thrco minutes and then sitting down for four and. a half minutes awaiting the next sling, and r that onljr 61 tons per hour were being handled instead of aliout 16 tons. Aiiother vessel loading wool and produce for tho Imperial Government has been, delaygd a considerable ..time, owing, to iho introduction of the "go-slow . policy. In this particular ease,- amongst other matters that could bo mentioned, for at least three days the meat gangs averaged only"-100 quarters of beef per •hour, instead of the usual 200 per hour. Othor instances could be quoted, but

those above are sufficient to show that the action of the members of your union has, uiigjiostionably, considerably delayed tho shipment of produco which is urgently required by the Imperial Government lor. tho sustenance of. our troops at the front, and the responsibility for this must rest with your union.—Yours faithfully (sgd.) William Pryor, Secretary. ABOUT "DUMPING" MISCONCEPTIONS EEMOVED. . Some misconceptions appear to exist regarding the method of Handling cargo known as "dumping." Wellington shipping employers explain that "dumping" is the process of discharging cargo in nets instead of in slings. It. would be more correctly termed "netting' 1 cargo. Experts of considerable experience state emphatically that it is a safer'process than slinging, more especially when comparatively inexperienced stevedores have- to be employed. It expediates the (uLpatch of vessels very considerably and easily makes the difference of a day in. tho discharge of a regular liner. It involves the employment of a larger number of men than when slinging.

_' Inferring to the statement that cargo is more damaed through being discharged in nets, experts point out that when slinging cargo, which is stowed away from the square of the hatch, the slings are dragged out after being mado up and cargo is ' frequently considerably damaged as a consequence. Whereas, when using the nets the cargoes are conveyed to the nets in the hatcTi and lifted practically directly up, thus avoid, ing much of the damage which occurs when goods are slung as above.

In the case of a badly made up sling tho danger to men is considerable while even the.most inexperienced can fill a a net which will laud the cargo in perfect safety. POSITION IN AUCKLAND. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auokland, February 2. . The only call for labour on the waterfront to-day was for forty men to work the A'rahura, which arrived at ten o'clock. The Union Company's representative went to the waiting room at one o'clock and found ample men available. Tho required gangs started work immediately.

An important appeal to the waterside workers is issued by the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) this morning. i-lis appeal is that the oversea steamers should bo loaded without any delay, as their cargoes of foodstuffs ar'o needed urgently by the men at the front and by. the peoplo of Great Britain.