THE WATERFRONT INDUSTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 72, 26 March 1921, Page 14

THE WATERFRONT INDUSTRY.

KETORM -WANTED. OBJECT LESSON' FROM SYDNEY. (New Zealand Welfare League.) Tlir Welfare League has periodically, during the past two years, emphasised Hi,, grave drawback? and dangers which arise from tiie existing system of casual labour on our waterfronts, and we have repeatedly culled for some attempt tg bring into existence a system of permanent labour, in order to place the industry on a more stable basis. We have only to recall the stoppage* ot work, the '•po-Aow' , and costly conditions which liavc caused Mich enormous loss to the pnblk-. to show that some drastic reform is necessary. We have been making inquiries as to tlie attempts that have beet) made to overcome >imilar evils in other countries, and find that we have an object lesson quite near at hand in Sydney. Space will not allow of too detailed an account of the methods .found sn BUeeessful :'t that port. but. the following; outline will lie useful to the many people who are giving their attention to this mutter. LABOUR CONTROL COMMITTEE. In IPI7 a Labour Control Committee or bureau was formed in Sydney which liad the support and approval of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court which controlled the cargo handling on coastal and overseas ships only. The inter-State ships did not come into the scheme. MEMBERSHIP. Applications for admi-sion to t lie union have to bo made on forms and the applicants passed by a committee appointed for the purpose. If satisfactory, the now member is given a metal numbered disc, v.hich gives him the right of employment: member* are liable to re dealt with for misconduct by a committee of three (one of whom is the secretary of the waterside federation) appointed by the Arbitration Court, and he has tin , right of appeal to an outside arbitrator also appointed by the court In practice this committee deals leniently with minor offences, but cargo pillaging is fatal and in the forfeiture of the din , of membership without which no employment is possible. PERMANENT AND CASUAL STAFF. The Control Committee has a permanent staff of varying number* according to circumstances who are paid the ""basic" weekly wage, work or no work, and who are the first to he called upon, they also have several hundred casuals on the books also a varying number according to the season and volume of tmde. In the tirst place the casual men register their names for work, and if casuals are required they are put on in priority of registration: on getting a job he hands in his disc to the office, which is returned to him when the job is over, and thus it is at once known by the presence or absence of the disc if the particular man is at work or waiting. Priority of work according to time of registering his imme ensures the man against favouritism. V\ hen a stevedore wants men he. notifies th» committee that he wants *n many, at such a place, at such a time. The gangs are made up first from the permanent Hr.nds available, and secondly from the casuals who have registered for work. SYSTEM OF PAYMENT AND PROFIT. The stevedore is charged lor the men engaged at the current rate per hour. The wages paid to permanent hands weekly, work or no work, naturally amount u> less than current hourly rate for casuals, whose work may be intermittent. Thus by charging the stevedore the hourly rate on all hands engage:! there is a profit on the permanent men supplied. In addition to this the shipowner is charged a small percentage on the stevedore's account, which goes to the committee to cover expenses. The shipowner Is willing to pay this, as the whole system makes for less delay and avoidance of strike* and stoppage?. THF.RE HAS NOT BEEN OXK STOPPAGE OF WORK 1N T THE PAST FOUR (4) YEARS. The profits, which are considerable, are used for providing comforts and convenience-; for the m*en, and, in deserving cases, arc used to financially assist the men or their dependents. When sufficient profits are accumulated, schemes for superannuation will be established. Overtime is regulated between the permanent and casual hands by mutual arrangement, and without friction.A CONTRAST. Before the above system was introduced a coal lumper would have to sit "on the stringer"' waiting for a call. He might be there all day and get a night job, knocking off at 3 a.m. He could not go horne —no trams or trains—so he ""dossed' , on deck till daylight; arrived at home just when his wife ivas getting the kids off to school. He, tired, dirty, hungry, and not «too good tempered, naturally did not cut a good figure before his family, and the conditions were not conducive to family happiness. Now he leaves his work, say, at 3 a.m., goes -to the club provided for the workers in the scheme, hands in his disc and registers his name for a job. He then can put his shovel in his locker, take out his clean clothes, have a hot or culd shower, and sleep in a comfortable bed after a snack of coffee and scones. ' In the morning for a small sum he can get a good breakfast, and before leaving can see on the call board in the hall wheh his next job is ready. He catches his tram or train and is home in time to see his children off to school, he is clean, has had a good sleep and breakfast and his arrival is welcome. As he knows the time and place for his next job he avoids the discomfort of "sitting on the stringer" waiting for a call, and his time is free for anything else he may wish to do. HOW APPLICABLE TO XEW ZEALAND. We do not propose in this article to deal with any suggestions as to the way in which the authorities in this Dominion should handle the waterside difficulty, but two points should be noted in relation to the above very successful scheme in Sydney. Firstly that the harbour authorities have nothing to do with the labour c6ntrol. They administer the harbour affairs and the labour is a separate control. This, we believe, will be essential to any chance of success in Yew Zealand. Secondly, the Labour Control Board or Bureau is not a Government concern but a mutually constituted committee vvhich has the approval and support of the Court.

MACHINE-GUN DANCE. Futurist ilan«« arc described in a pamphlet just issued by Sicnor s. T. Marlncttl, the Italian futurist port. •■Tin.- motion of engine*, strcring whrels. ooss. and piston* must !.p romMned to ni-bieve the nietaliistic iiloa (if the futurist dnni-e,"' lie says. --It will be aerompnnied l.y organise J noNen. the Inusuugf of tlie new inachtni'-mntle lif". Futurist rtancins will l.c ■ luihannonlniis. unjrnweful. Un symmetrical dynaini.s." Miirinotli proposes lo ailrertisrthree novelties to be kuon-ii as thr xbrnpnsl, machine-gun, and aviation dniirra.