At the Waterfront

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 78, 6 September 1912, Page 2

At the Waterfront

By NAUTILUS

DOCKERS AND INSURANCE ACT

AUCKLAND AND NAPIER

OFFICIALS,

WELLINGTON MEN INJURED

SEAMEN APPROACHED.

The Wellington Waterside Workers' Band will bo holding a series of socials in tho Alexandra Hall on the last Wednesday in each month, commencing on September 25. The band also purposes running regular Sunday evening educational entertainments for Industrial Unionism propaganda.

The Compulsory Insurance Act has had a peculiar effect on the Liverpool dockers. Under this scheme the stevedoring companies are required to pay premiums on the number of men in their employ. Where previously large numbers of men were encouraged to wait about for a pittance of work, and were given an occasional job in order to keep them handy for the busy season, the employers now concentrate the work into fewer hands in order to save premiums. Waterside workers will readily understand the effect of this. Instead of a large number of men receiving scrappy work, the fewer number are receiving a living wage, the remainder being forced to find entirely fresh avenues of employment or become unemployable.

New Plymouth waterside workers have cancelled their registration under the Arbitration Act. * * «

Tho President, of the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union called into tho local union offices when in Wellington and also attended as a guest of the baud at its social. Judging from a short conversation with him, the writer is of the opinion that he is a man of some depth, a clean-cut, active personality, and one ably suited to take t&e £alm of tie industrial ship Militant.

Denis McCarthy, Waterside Union secretary and sport, Napier, was in Wellington as the referee of the big match in the Athletic Park on Saturday, August 24. He still stands to his opinions on arbitration, as the sure and certain hope of his floei. Shearing commences again in Napier next month. w « ■ The s.s. Strathroy, kerosene and Chinamen, smellful and greasy, roamed into Wellington casually the other week with a part cargo of trustdfied oil for Kaiwarra. During discharging operations one of the gangs of men employed was coming ashore, having completed the job at one of the smaller hatches. During their passage ashore the accommodation ladder broke in half and precipitated four men on to the wharf. On-p man had the misfortune to break a rib, another injured his back somewhat severely, whilst two others were only saved from serious injury by falling upon a Chinaman who happened to be painting the ship's side beneath the gangway.

Owing to a. flaw in the Compensation Act it was questioned as to whether payment could be claimed for the injured men by the usual process, the men having been dismissed on deck The secretary of the local union (Mr. Farland) decided, on the advice of O'Regan and Dix, the Federation attorneys, to take out a writ holding tha ship until a case could be heard under common law.

At the election of the executive council of the Wellington Waterside Workers' Union, a full majority of Federationists was returned. A vigorous policy will be pursued during the coming year and active propaganda towards greater solidarity.

The watersiders of Wellington are seeking an open door transfer \v ; tJt the teamen's Union. A deputation which waited on the latter union was unsuccessful in persuading the seamen's executive to' adopt a modern scheme of interchange of membership. The Seamen's Union demanded a week's notice to be given of a member's intention to transfer; such transfers only being, allowed to men who have been members of the union for six months or Tho idea of One Big Union is yet foreign to tho executive of the

A.F.S.U.; even the open-door transfer certificate is many years in advance of the times. This is an example of professional unionism where gold is of more value than unity. # » * Solidarity cannot avail in the. treasury. To fortify the oashbox with high entrance fees, to close the doors to kindred unions, serve but to create a hostile force on tihe outside ready to break and eater when trouble ooasf,