SEAMEN’S UNION

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 15, 12 October 1921, Page 6

SEAMEN’S UNION

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER PORT OF REGISTRATION EFFECT ON WORKERS’ RIGHT’S A deputation from the Federated Sem' men's Union waited on the Alinister of Marine (Sir Francis Bell) yesterday morning. It was introduced by Air. H. E. Holland (Buller) and its spokesman was Mr. AV. T. Young (secretary cf tho union). Air. Young eaid that the first request of the union was that the last paragraph of the fourth schedule of the Shipping and Seamen Act, 1968, should, be deleted. It provided that a ship of 206 tons net, not licensed to carry passengers, might proceed to sea with one able seaman less than scale. It was equal ■to saying that if a ship was licensed to carry passengers, irrespective of the number, it was necessary only to carry one able seaman more than the number parried on a ship not licensed to cany 'passengers. A ship such as the Afaori or the AA 7 ahine might be licensed to carry 800 to 1060 passengers, and the scale would compel Ler to carry only one able seaman more than a ship that was not so licensed. Manning Ship’s Boats. In the deck department, ships wero considerably undermanned. Not enough, able seamen were carried to man the boats in the event of disaster. _ For instance, a ship such as the AVahine would bo carrying about 14 able seamen, and ordinary seamen. That did not give one able seaman to each Iwat. The union wished the manning-scale for the deck department to be increased bynot less than two able seamen in each instance. In consequence of regulations made after the Titanic disaster, vessels coming from the Old Country to New* Zealand—particularly those vessels which carried immigrants—shipped an additiom ■ al number of boats and able seamen in the Old Country. The seamen were signed on for the voyage to New Zealand, and when the immigrants disembarked the additional seamen were paid off and the ship returned to the United Kingdom with her ordinary number of seamen. In the Penguin disaster it had been found that there were not by any means enough men to man the boats. In one boat filled with women and children there was only one man, and he, v-ith all the other occupants, was drowned. There was no provision at present for the manning of an oil-burning ship. , The union asked that in the stokehold ■ there should be one fireman to every nine fires in the one stokehold, or one to every seven fires in different stokeholds, and that there should be two wipers for each watch. So far as the speaker could gather, this was fairly close to the scale used on the Atlantic . Coast, the Pacific Coast, and the coast of British Columbia, where oil-burners were fairly common. Seamen and Elections. The port of registration of ships involved some matters of moment for sea- ; men. Th© Legislature Act had formerly provided that a seaman should for the purpose of qualifying as an elector he deemed to reside in New .Zealand if he was serving on 'board a vessel registered or owned in New Zealand. By the amending Act of 1914 the words "or owned’ had been deleted, and thus the qualification had been confined to seamen employed on vessels registered in New Zealand.Quite recently the port of registration of the Wahine and the Afaori had been changed from Dunedin to London. It was worthy of note that the amendment was passed on October 27. 1914, and that the port of registration of three Union Company ships—the Kurow, the Manuka, and the Moeraki—was changed from Dunedin to London in September, 1914. Sir Francis Bell: This must have been an amendment for some war purpose. What you are saying is quite right. There ought to lie an amendment m this respect. Air. Youiig: Any seaman employed on board the Afaori Sir Francis Bell: I see quite plainly. Of course it ought to be The port of registration, Air. Young continued, affected the rights of seamen under tho Legislature Act, the Arbitration Act, the Workers’ Compensation Act, and the Shipping and Seamen Act. Under tho Workers’ Compensation Act they wero vitally affected. If an accident occurred on board a ship registered outside New Zealand, and outside the territorial waters of New Zealand, the man injured, or his dependants in case of death, could not claim compensation ai An amendment in section 132, paragraph (b), of the Shipping and Seamen Act, 1908, was desired, so that a seaman should not forfeit two days’ pay in every case of absence without leave. Ihe forfeiture of two days’ pay was the maximum penalty, 'but unfortunate y the man who had the imposition of the penalty was tho master of the ship who generally acted upon what an officer or the engineer said. In ninety-nine cases out of one hundred tho maximum penalty was inflicted, irrespective of t™ B during which the man might 'bo absent. Sir Francis Bell: I don’t quite see how we are gding to do it, Mr. 1 does say “a sum not exceeding two days P Mr. Young: A great many of those things are done at the dictation of the engineer. The master knows nothing. Minister’s Reply. Sir Francis Bell replied that he had boon pleased to listen to tho deputation. He was not quite sure whether it wou £ pMsible "his year to get- - ammidment of the Legislature Act thro . Parliament, but there was sure to be an amendment next year He admit ted that the alteration asked for by the depu a Hon seemed to be needed. He voiua give the other matters his best consider--11 T°h© Minister added that consolidattons of the Workers’ Compensation and Arbitration Acts had been prepared, though it was just possible that they would have to stand over this year. He thought Umt Legislature Act amentoen ought to go through this year, but could not, of course, give any pledge.