SHIPPING HOLD-UP

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3186, 10 September 1917, Page 6

SHIPPING HOLD-UP

MOSQUITO FLEET STILL IDLE POSITION UNCHANGED It was reported yesterday that thero was no material change in tho position regarding tho trouble which is holding up the mosquito fleet in Wellington. The following vessels, which were to have sailed at the week-end, arc tied up at tho Wellington wharves:—

Kaitoa, for Nelson. Defender, for Picton and Hokitika. Himitangi, for Chatham Islands. Huia, for Wangnnul and New Plymouth.

Hawera, for Pa tea. Waverley, for Patea. Queen of the South, for Foxton. Opawa, for Blenheim. Blenheim, for Wanganui. Nikau, for Nelson. ' Kapiti, for Wanganui. One vessel, the Tainui, sailed on Saturday for Lyttolton,

A circular, issued by Mr. W. T. Young, secretary of the Seamen's Union, -was shown to a Dominion reporter on Saturday. It is headed "Working of New Agreement with Shipowners—lmportant to Members," and is really an explanatory note from the secretary of the union to "the members. In the course of tho circular Mr. Young says:—

"The union cannot object to two, three, four, or moro watches of deck hands being worked at sea, neither can it object to one, two, three, or more men in a watch." This is Mr. Young's interpretation of the clause in dispute. The owners chose to work one man per watch, which, with the officer on duty, makes tiro men, which they consider meets every demand. If there wore half a dozen men, it is held, they could not do anymore than one officer and a competent seaman do, but the union holds that there ought to be a look-out man as well as the man at tho 'wheel. The owners regard the officer as the "look-out man," and say that if anything untoward occurs, or the weather is thick, the master is always called, and his cabin is in such a position that he can be roused ont in a minute.

"The curious part of the whole business," said one owner's representative, "is that one moment .vou hear of the men being overworked—too tired to keep watch—and the next moment offering to do tho work as overtime. Nominally, there are two men in a watch, but the invariable custom is that one of the two is below sleeping. The actual custom has not been altered in any way by tho agreement.

The agreement is a Dominion award, but so far there have been no reports of trouble anywhere in New Zealand but Wellington.

A STATEMENT FROM EACH SIDE CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERATION AND SECIiETARY OF THE UNION. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, September 0. m r, , Enuluey, chairman of tho r*cw Zealand Shipowners' Federation, made the following statement regarding the position between employers aud seamen in Wellington"Air. Deck, chairman of tho Shipowners' Committee, is reported to h<ive said, Mti has been tho custom for nonie time to have only on© man on watch on_ tho smaller vessels. 1 As this tends to give a false impression ot the position I would like to say that this only applies to sailors; that in addition to the helmsman there is . tho officer mi the bridge in chargo of 1 the deck. Prior to the present Agreement being entered into with the Seamen's Union it was the custom to work 6eam?'J ln these vessels watch and watch, with two men in a watch, one man at the wheel and tho other (as stated by Mr. Deck) often in his bunk. It is not practicable excepti ill the finest weather in these small boats to keep a look-out in tho fore part of the ship. The lookout is kopt by the officer on tho bridge, who has n hotter view.

Regarding tho present trouble, prior to the present agreement being entered into seamen in small steamers worked watch and watch of four hours on and A°x Ur .k° ur3 °ff» or ft twelve hours' day. At the conference called to mako tlie present agreement tho union stood out for an eight-hour day at sea; This was not workable in small breits with only four seamen when a boat was at sea for the full 2-1 hours, therefore the union delegates agreed that tho men 6houid work eight hours as might be required by the employer, and that any number of men from one upwards oould be worked in a watch. A circular to this effect was sent out by tho executive of the beamen s Union to all members, dated June 13 last. In view of these facts the action of the seamen in Wellington is very strange, and cau only be an indication that as the meeting of shipownera and union representatives last week failed to agree-as to the interpretation, ot certain clauses of tho agreament, and as tho seamen's representatives declined to refer the points in dispute to the Arbitration Court, the men have taken the matter into their own hands. The shipowners have already token steps to have the points in dispute interpreted by the Court."

Mr. Young, general secretary of tho union, interviewed, said there were fix or seven points in dispute beyond that made public. Seemingly the. Shipowners' Federation was concentrating its energy on the question of hoiuvj. The ! question of watches and Che number of men in a watch had never been the subject of an industrial demand by the union. The matter was left- entirely to the Legislature. At present a number of vessels were engaged in dangerous trade between Wellington and Nelson, with only one man on watch, that man being at the wheel. There were similar conditions in the Auckland coastal trade. Instances were brought under notice where the officer took the wheel and sent the man below. This action endangered the lives of passengers as well as of the crew. The shipowners had given evidence before the Arbitration Court that nb ship was safe at sea with one ninn in a watch, and they had gone so far as to say that no ship was safe without three men in a watch.

Mr. Young contradicted the statement that tho men were paid overtime for time spent in their tanks, saying this might have happened in isolated cases on short Tuns.

A meet-ins of the local union was lipid 011 Saturday evening, but Mr. Young declined to say what occurred there.

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