THE WAIRUNA'S CREW

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 225, 11 June 1918, Page 6

THE WAIRUNA'S CREW

CARE OF DEPENDANTS

PRESENT ALLOWANCES INSUFFICIENT

It will lio remembered thnt the crew of the Wairuna, after having long been given up as lost, were reported to have been captured by a raider in the Pacific Ocean, and to have been interned in Germany as prisoners of war. The different organisations of seafaring men are not satisfied with the provision that is being made for the dependants of the men during the period of their imprisonment, and yesterday a deputation, representing the Merchant Service Guild, the Marine Engineers, tho Seamen's Union, and the Cooks' and Stewards' Union, waited upon Hie Minister of Defence (Sir James Allen) and tho Minister of Marino (the Hon. T. M. Wilford) to discuss the matter, and to ask for some improvement in tho treatment jf tho dependants of these .men.

It was urged by the several speakers of the deputation that tho amounts being paid to the families of the officers nnd. men of the ship wore much .less than tho equivalent of the peace time incomes of those families. The request made, was that the employers of the men, the Union Steam Ship Company, should be compelled to pay full wages to the dependants of tho men. Members of the deputation were quite definite on the point that they wished the company, and not the'Slato'to bear the burden, pointing out that the company, while it took risks owing to the""war. recouped it.self manifold by charging heavier freights. The men, while they had to take risks, could mako provision for them only out of peace-time incomes. In Now .Zealand ships tho rates of pay were not now equal to those being paid to members of the crews of British ships in tho war zone. It was true that the rates of pay had been increased in New Zealand ships since the outbreak of war, but tho increases did not represent compensation for war risks to be taken by the men. They were rather given to compensate for the higher cost of living, nnd tho increases were common to all occupations in the country. Under tho present scale applying to tho families of the men of the Wairuna, the wifo of an A.B. received JZb'l a year, and the wife of an ordinary seaman ,£3O 15s. per year. It was said that' these amounts were not enough to allow a woman to live decently. The scale was based on the British pre-war earnings of a 6ailor. The New Zealand soalo should be based, not on the English rates of pay before the war, but on the pTO-war earnings of men in New Zealand ships. Sir .lames Allen said that the Government recognised the splendid service rendered by the men of tho mercantile marino during the war, and were anxious to do for them all that, was possible. Tho main request made by the deputation— .that the men interned should* bo paid their full wages—was ono to which ho could not give a definite and immediate reply. These men were not in the service of tho Government, but in tho service of the Union Company, and it seemed to him that all that the Government could do was to approach the Uniou Company to see what they would do in (he matter. He would have pleasure in bringing tho representations that had ; been mode by the deputation before: Cabinet. The case of these men was not the direct concern of the Government, but indirectly it was tho concern of the Government, because it was the desire, as it was tho duty of the Government to see that the men of the mercantile marine were fairly treated. • Mr. Wilford said that the Marine Department was hampered in this matter by lack of definite information. The statement js6ueri by the Board of Trade as to the "compensation of British seamen suffering injuries by tho war left much to be explained in the paragraph .dealing with the dependants of officers nnd men interned in Germany. It was ; laid down that the allowance (o be paid j to. tho wife of a man intea-ned should bo ■ half wages, or one pound a week, which- ; ever should bo the less, nnd the scheme i was worked in connection with the Gov- '■■ ernment insurance scheme, the owners ■ paying 20 per cent, and the Government SO per cent, of the allowance. Then j there was the later statement that the ; scheme had been amended to pro- | vide that the dependants of men inj terned should- have the samcr allowances as those of men killed. There could be no doubt in his opinion that the present scale was not sufficient for the relatives of men in Now Zealand ships. He agreed with the Minister of Defence that tho matter should lx) referred'to Cabinet. His personal opinion was that some advance should be made in the rate of allowances to dependants resident in New Zealand, and'that the scale at present in force as applied to the dependants of British 6ailors was not sufficient: for the dependants of New Zealand sailors. Replying to a remark made by Captain M'lridoe, the Minister of Defence said that the liability in • the present i case was upon the Union Company and ! not on the Government. As to whether j it would be within the power of the Government to compel the company to nay he could not at present say. The Government could not go any further j thnn the law allowed it to go.