HIGH COST, WORST SERVICE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 8, 2 October 1937, Page 3

HIGH COST, WORST SERVICE

-Press Assoeiation )

N.Z. Waterfronit Organisation Under Criticism PRODUCER'S BURDEN

(By TAIegraph-

, WELLINGTON, Last Night. 1 Waterfront costs and conditions in New Zealand were criticised by Mr. W. J. Polson (National, Stratford) in his speech on the Budget debate in the House of Kepresentatives to-day. He said that he would not mind the costs being the highest in the world if the service 'were also the best, but it had been described by shipmasters and others competent to judge as the worst in tho world. In various ports of the Dominion they frequentiy had hold-ups and tiouble approaching strikes. They knew the cost of such trouble and that the attitude of the waterside workers in regard to international questions was likely to be a serious embarrassinent to the Dominion in connection with primary produce. If markets were to suffer because of the attitude adopted it was a little over the odds, said Mr. Polson. The primary producers had to meet world competition and they could get only such value as remained in their produce after the service iad been paid for. Stop-work Meetings

' Mr. Polson spoke of the serious effect on prices for fruit which rcsulted sometimes from stop-work meetings on the waterfront. He quoted the editor of an Australian livestock jonrnal, who said that it was such slow going at Auckland on one occasion that one of the winchmen read his paper between slings. The cost of handling frozen meat had increased at one of the main ports since 1933 by no less than 66f per cent., which was far and above any inerease that might have been expeeted from vrage increases. Go-slow tactics were often resorted to, and difiiculty was experienced with labour because non-union men were no longer available and there was a re: striction on the membership of many waterside unions. As a Tesult union men often offered themselves for replacement just when it suite d them, and that led to difiiculty and friction on the waterfront. In one case work had been retarded by tho absence of a man and the other members of the gang refusing to work without him. Chilled Beef Held Up In connection with the recent development of tho chilled beef industry, which. had great potentialities, pains had been taken to explain to tho waterside workers that the meat must be handled rapidly and with cxtreme care, yet there had been the most lackadaisical methods in its loading, with tho result that shippers were kept continually on tenterhooks. There wero complaints about the gear supplicd, and at one port the men walked off on account of a shower of rain and refused to come back, although there -wero cnly one and a-half trucks left to handlc. It was necessary in such a case to rail the meat back to a freezing works and ffeeze it down. Tho' cost of all that had to be borne by the shipper, and.on top of that the meat was worth a penny a lb. less. "I think the House should realiso that this sort of thiiig has been going' on in this country," said Mr. Polson. "The smaller ports have suffered, too, sometimes to the same extent as tho bigger ports." A great deal of trouble was also experienced in the loading of dairy produce through breakages, particuiarly in the case of cheese. The bureau system had been established in an endeavour to improve the position, but to-day costs were just as high a? ever; in fact, they were higher. No Common Cause "It has been suggested by the Government that the farmers of this country and the workers have a common cause and should co-oneratc," Mr. Polson coneluded. "What can ihe farmer have in common with a policy of that kind, the least amount of worl. ' for the greatest amount of pay, m exemplified on the waterfront." ; I I