THE COASTAL SHIPPING DEADLOCK

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3198, 24 September 1917, Page 4

THE COASTAL SHIPPING DEADLOCK

To the general public the deadlock which has been reached in connection with | the small ' coastal steamers must appear as a futile and foolish business. The position apparently is that the men want two men besides the officer in chiargo in cach watch, whereas the owners of the boats claim that one man with I the officer is sufficient. The ground on which the men base their claim is tho safety of the vessel,and those on board. The test of the_ reasonableness or otherwise' of their claim is past experience. On the coastal boats affected by the dispute it is generally admitted that tbc man on the bridge can keep a Letter' look-out than a ; man posted in the bows of the vessel a few leet away. From .his elevated position on the bridgo the officer, it is claimed, is better situated, especially in anything like rough weather, than would be a man stationed' in the bow of these small boats where there is practically no shelter,, and where the seas occasionally break over. Tho Shipping and Seamen's Act specifies the number of men whicn must be carried on vessels of stated size, and it is not suggested that the owners of the coastal fleet ap attempting to depart from the provisions of the Act. The position resolves itself down to this: that the men now refuse to work under con-ditions*-which a few months ago they thought fair and reasonable; H>nd demand a change "wh'ich, if accedcd to, would necessitate the employment of a greater number of seamen on the ooastal boats. It has been stated that the ibcti are merely advancing this claim -for two seamen in each watch in order to force some other concessions from the owners of tho vessels. It is somewhat strange that little attention appears s to have been given to what is really a feature of the matter 01 extreme importance. Hero is the Dominion, and, indeed, the whole Empire, ondeavouring to make tlio most of its man power to meet the emergencies arising out of the war, cutting out surplus labour wherever possible and diverting it into channels where it will be of greater value, arid yet the-Seamen s* Union chooses this critical time to move in exactly the opposite direction. Instead of endeavouring to assist in the task of making tho most of our available labour and turning it to the best account in order that we may have every possible advantage' in the war, the seamen engaged on the coastal boats are straining to force tho shipowners to employ more men than in the past has boon deemed necessary. Possibly they have not looked at the matter from this point of view, but it is very necessary that they shouM appreciate what their action means.