SHIPS STILL IDLE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 8, 2 October 1937, Page 5

SHIPS STILL IDLE

*Our Own Correspondenk)

Gisborne Dispute Not Yet Settled LABOUR CALLS ABORTIVE

' (From

GISBORNE, This Day. The shxpping deadlock at Gisborne still continues, three ships — the Karepo, the Mako and the Margaret W. — being affected. Calls for labour to man three hatches of the Karepo were made yesterday and shipowners made no effort to secure men to work the other thrcfe ships. Disturbing consequences elsewhere ?tre being caused by the delay to the Karepo which was scheduled to have loaded coal at Greymouth yesterday and no other ship is available for this loading. A result of the dispute which arose over the manning of the Karepo 's hatches is that the vessel is now recognised by shipowners as a preference ship and present indications are that intervention by some authority superior to the shipowners' committee or the Watersiders' Union is necessary to brealt the deadlock. . It is claimed by tEe union executive that under award conditions men are entitled to work on a glven hatch until it is cleared. In the case in point, three hatches of the Karepo contain coal underlying general cargo and shipowners claim that they are entitled to dispense with the services of men not needcd for handliDg the coal as soon as tho general cargo is discharged. At Gisborne a general cargo gaug numbers 17 and a coal gang 11. No pi'Ogress had been made by'tlie local disputes committee towards effecting a settlement and the bwners have referred the dispute to liigher authorities, the union executive meanwhile standing unmoved on its interpretation of the award. Settlement Delayed. Discussing the -position yesterday with a reporter, a representative of the shipowners said that Calls for labour at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. yesterday had all proved to be abortive. Principals of various shipping firms statione^ in Wellington were reviewing the position and were keeping in close touch with the Watersiders' Federation. It seemed unlikely that any settlement would be reached until next week and in the meantime local shipowners were sitting back and awaiting the results of deliberations between the interested parties in Wellington. Connection Lost. Last yesterday morning it was announced that tlxo butter shipment of 4000 boxes, which the Koutunui was to have carried to Napier for transhipment to the Horne liner Akaroa would not be taken from the freezing chamber for loading to the Koutunui. It had been hoped that, despite the hold-up, it would be possible for the vessel to talce its cargo aud connecfc with the Akaroa at Napier, but the failure of calls for labOur preeluded any possibility of this being done and orders were received yesterday for tho Koutunui to proceed to her f.eadquarters ,at Napier and the vessel sailed last evening for the Hawke's Bav uort.