SHIP HELD UP

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 21, 26 January 1938, Page 12

SHIP HELD UP

MEN STOP LOADING

BEEF CARGO IMPERILLED

CREW WORK ALL NIGHT

Through the action of the waterside workers at Wellington refusing to work through the usual meal hour last evening, and take their meal hour an hour later, a large quantity of chilled beef for shipment overseas by the Port Campbell was jeopardised. The beef, which was perishable cargo, was loaded by the ship's crew, which worked throughout the night, finishing at 5 o'clock thit> morning, and the steamer sailed at 11 a.m. for Napier. .

Owing to the rougn weather on Monday, loading was .interrupted, and with the desire of completing tne Wellington loading without delay, one of the three gangs of vvatersiders who were loading chilled beef and frozen meat were asked to work between 5 and 6 o'clock yesterday evening, and take their tea hour from 6 o'clock till 7 o'clock. The gang refused to work, and when they persisted in their refusal, were discharged. At that time it'was considered too late to be able to engage fresh union labour, and as it was necessary-to get the ship away, and the meat had' to be loaded, the crew performed the work. When the two other gangs returned from tea and found the crew loading the ship they refused to start work unless the crew were stopped from working. The employers refused to accede to the demand, and the two gangs would not work. In all, the Port :ampbe had 3200 quarters of chilled beef to load at Wellington—a large shipment—and when work stopped there were 1000 quarters still to be loaded. Chilled beef is carried in gas-proof .chambers, and it was essential, if it was not tj be returned to the freezing works to be frozen, that it should be ■• loaded on to the ship. Consequently the crew worked throughout .the night, and. finished the loading at 5 o'clock this morning. Six trucks of frozen meat and five' trucks of butter,. which were to be loaded, were.left behind, the meat being sent back to Ngahauranga, and the butter to cool store, TERMS OF AWARD. No reason was given to tlie employers by the watersiders for refusing to work during the 'meal hour. The New Zealand Waterside Workers' Award provides that ■ work shall be carried on during the meal, hour when required, and for that hour's work the men would have received 6s 4d each, as compared with 5s 4d; which is the ordinary meal-hour rate.

Today, being the picnic day for the transport workers, is a wharf holiday, and the only work; c^one was the, unloading" by permanent employees of some 1500 cases ,of fruit from the Rangatira. This cargo arrived on Sunday, but was not discharged on Monday owing to wet weather. A big percentage of the fruit cargo was landed in a condition unsuitable for marketing. ,

The trouble on the Port Campbell is to be considered by the Control Board of the Wellington Waterside Labour Bureau at 8 a.m. tomorrow. This board consists of four representatives of the ship owners and four representatives of the union.

Tomorrow is expected to be a heavy day on the waterfront, and it is anticipated that there may be a shortage of union labour.'