THE WATERFRONT DISPUTE
DEADLOCK CONTINUES
PECULIAR DEVELOPMENT
OFFER OF SETTLEMENT BY UNION
Yesterday saw no material change in the. situation on the waterfront. The deadlock, whic-li began over the coastal steamer Calm still continues, und tho great bulk of the shipping is now tied up. 'Inure was u strange turn in events yesterday morning, when following on a fruitless call l'or labour ior the Calm, a call was made for mon to work tho Port Alma. The previous afternoon tho men had ceased working the latter vessel on the score of rain, anil .were, in accordance with estabiishod practice, dismissed by Uieir employers. Yesterday's call was for labour to iill tho places of these men—fifteen in all—and a full quota ol' watersiders offered their services. They wero accepted and worked on tho Port Alma throughout tho day. Olio of their number was a member o£ Thursday's' gang, the remaining fourteen being fresh hands. Tho employers point out ' that the position of the Port Alma was on till fours with that of the Calm, - and they accordingly claim that the .watersiders have accepted engagement on' tho Port Alma under exactly the eame conditions as they have refused it oil tho smaller stoamer. '
Different Viewpoints. Members of the union, on the other hand—according to a statement made to a Dominion reporter by the secretary (llr. J'. Bruce)—claim that the action of the shipping companies in engaging new men to work tho Port Alma bears >out the men's contention that men ivho knock off work through rain and are discharged aro freo to offer their advices far what ship they like and are not bound in. any sense. In reply to this argument, the employers point out that tho men's case is put out of court on acoount of the fact thaii there was concerted action by tJio watersiders not to work the Calm. Tho cases of tho Port Alma and the Calm were analogous, yet in tlw ease of tho coastal steamer tho men refused to accept employment, but answered the liner's call for labour. Incidentally, the employers attach importance to tho fact that both jobs wero being worked by the same stevedoring firm. Union Approach Employers. The union executivo met in the morning and further' considered the position. The meeting decided to forward a. letter to the employers embodying ascertain suggestion for a settlement. This letter was ratified by a meeting of tho unemployed men which was held at 1 p.m., and it did not reach the employers till late in the afternoon. Consequently it has not yet been considered. „ Calls for, labour for the Calm were made as fe110w:—7.45 a.m., 9.15 a.m., 1.20 p.m., and 2.30 p.m Only one man answered the call, and this was at 1.20 p.m. He and three'others who aocepted engagement on previous days are w standing by tho vessel until such time as a full gang i 9 provided. Ae the Calm was nob manncij, no further calls wore iuade for labour, except in the case, of the Port Alma, whoso position is, the employers contend, tb.B as that of the Calm. ' The result is that over a score or vessels which have-arrived, in port since nocn on Tuesday are lying ullo. Tho Lvttolton ferry steamer was, m accordance with tlie policy of tho 'employers, worked as usual.
SUPPORT FOR THE WATERSIDERS
FROM WELLINGTON TRADES COUNCIL.
The troublo on the Wellington waterside was- discussed at this week's meeting uf tlie Wellington Trades find Labour Council, and t-iio following resolution was carried unanimously: "Tlmt this, council regards with apprehension the methods adopted by the employers of waterside workers, in that such methods are pursued with motives of a palpably sinister character." In tho course of discussion it was suggested that tho employers were trying to goad the men to striko. at a time which the employers might deem opportune. Allegations wero made that tho mon were subjected to many "petty annoyances/' and it was considered.that in "such trying circumstances" the men wero exercising muoh "oommendable forbearance." • ■
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19201002.2.55
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 6, 2 October 1920, Page 8
Word count
Tapeke kupu
670THE WATERFRONT DISPUTE Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 6, 2 October 1920, Page 8
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.