WATERSIDERS

Hokitika Guardian, 25 November 1932, Page 6

WATERSIDERS

MEET AT WELLINGTON

IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS

WELLINGTON, November 24

Although tne stop-work meeting lieid. this morning bv the Wellington Waieiside Workers’ Union lusted tour a,nd a. half hours, it is estimated that nothing definite resulted. A ' further meeting is to he. held to-morrow moming.

it is stated that two ballots will he taken, one on the question of the handling of frozen, meat from the works employing non-union labour, and the second 1 on the reduction of the salaries and numbers of the Union’s paid officials. The meeting was closed to the ■press and no statement for publication was .forthcoming. It is understood, however, that most of the time was given to a discussion of the balaiue -sheet apd the salaries of certain officials.

It is unofficially reported that the men have been strongly advised against refusing to load meat. An intimation is said to have been conveyed to.them that a refusal will result in .an immediate call for “free” labour being made.

A previous message stated the result of these discussions. will affect Wellington only, unions at- eacli port deciding whether or not they will load meat, and on this question there is no unanimity among .unions. New Plymouth, Wanganui and Wellington to date having refused to touch nonunion meat, while at Auckland, Gisborne and Napier the waters’-ders are now handling the meat. Another question to he brought up by a large laxly of men will, however, probably have far-reaching effects. This is the question of reduction in the salaries and in the numbers of union officials. It is freely .stated that many of the Wellington waterside workers consider that they are paying too- many offi v .als and -paying them far too much from their present greatly, reduced earnings. They consider that the only official to draw a salary should be the secretary, and that he should be paid on the basis of a forty-four hour week at the basic rate of pay, 2s an hour, that is £4 8s «• week, or £228 16s a year.

Last year officials’ wages accounted for £775, officials in receipt of a salary being the secretary .and acting-seere-tary, the walking delegate and actingwalking delegate, while honoraria to the president, treasurer, librarian and Fox ton delegate accounted for £sl, and the upkeep of a motor-car at the disposal of the secretary and • walking delegate a further £79. This the men consider to he out of aill proportion., especially as slackness in shipping has reduced the-iir wages very considerably during the past two years.

Further big items in their expsnditure which they desire to see reduced are capitation fees to the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Federation and to the New Zealand Labour Party, particularly the first, which amounted last year to £370. This body of men considers, it is stated, that the union should by now have 'a large reserve fund, as there has been no industrial trouble necessitating drawing upon the fund' for a.number of years. Instead of a large fund, however, there was in the last annual balance-sheet of the union a credit balance of only £724 in the bank. The men thus contend that their contributions merely paid officials’ salaries and did not build up a reserve fund as they should . A second body of men, it is understood, desire to go even further, and to break up the union and form a new one having no salaried officials at all.

Should they either reduce officials', salaries or discard them altogether, as js considered quite possible, it 'will in all probability have a far-reaching effect upon other industrial unions. It is stated that many men belonging to other unions also consider that as their own wages have been cut, those of their officials should also be cut, and that the number of paid officials should he decreased to a bare minimum, and' they are only waiting for a lpad from one of the unions to put these cuts into force. Thus it appears that the meeting of the. Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union may be a momentous one• in the .history of unionism in New Zealand.