WATERSIDE LABOUR.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 125, 29 May 1922, Page 7

WATERSIDE LABOUR.

EVIDENCE FOR THE UNION. CONDITIONS AT SMALL PORTS. The hearing of the waterside workers' dispute was continued before the Arbitration Court this morning. Mr. Justice J l-'razer presided. Mr. W. O. Smith I appeared for the employers and Mr. .f. ! Roberta for the union. I Mr. Roberts, in opening the case for J the union. Paid that owing to the limited ■ time at the diepowl of the Court he • would simply proceed with the calling of evidence. Christopher Davidson, secretary of ihe Kaipara Waterside Workers" Union, said It-hat he had occupied that position ior I four years, and the membership of his , union was about ">">. The Knitunit needed ~>\ men to work her. the Omana 40, and ,the Thlimaln, .loan Craig and similar j vessels lift to :!0. They mostly deal' j ! with timber and coal. Five men would i be engaged in a gang unloading coal, and if the employers" proposal to reduce 1 this number to four was given effect to ;it would be very hard on the men. and he did not think they would be able to last at it from S a.m. to 10 p.m. There , were many men who would not work on I coal cargo because it was far too heavy I ! for them. Six men to a gang would be I i much belter for thp men. They loaded quite a. large amount of tinil>er at Kai- i para, and the number of men to a gang ! varied from ■( to 7. according to the j j size of the hold. On the Ihumata six) men could work on each side of ihe hold, • 1 making twelve in the gang. The general I average for coal was 10 tons an hour, I nnd for timber 5000 feet an hour, though with timber for butter boxes this amount would be considerably increased. He bad ! , never heard any complaint that the men ] were going slow at Kaipara. In fact. ' the men on occasions had been complimented on their quickness in discharging I vessels. The witness then dealt with I ' the question of travelling time, and said I Ihe did not think that it was fair if only I I ordinary time, counted one way. was | ; allowed. If the employers reduced the | i rate of wages at Kaipara ihey would get ; an inferior type of watersider. RegardI ing meals, the present custom was for I the employers to supply a meal between two working shifts, and if 1/6 was al- .; lowed in lieu thereof it would not be of 1 any use to some member.-- of his union j who were engaged in smaller ports, for I they could not get meals at these places. jln Dargavillp they could not purchase a meal for that amount. i In reply to Mr. Smith witness stated I that ho did not know that the agreement lin IPI2 provided for four men in a coal I gang. I Thomas R. Porter, secretary of the Tokomaru Bay branch of the Oisborne Waterside Workers' I'nion. said that the men occupied about half an hour in going from the wharf to the steamers lying in the bay. and were paid travelling time. The sleeping accommodation in some vessels for waterside workers was good, hammocks being provided, but iin others the men bad to sleep on the shelter deck. The accommodation for thp men for taking their meals on colliers was most unsatisfactory, for there was no protection against the coal dust. A canvas screen, hi? thought, would meet the case. He was of opinion thai the employers should allow the union to appoint an acent for them for the engagement of lalics.tr. A inemlwr of his I union worked from 14 to 1" hours per 'week. Willi five men in a gang thp average amount of coal dealt with was ! five tons an hour, while they ]<.mleil from ISO to 240 bales of wool in the name time. Frank Saunders, waterside worker at Russell, said there were .V.I financial members of his union, lletween .'lO nnd 40 men were employed on meat steamers and f>2 on timber vessels. No accommodation was provided on timber vessels. The men had to take their own blankets and sleep on the damp timber in the ship's hold. On the Opawa the men wore supplied with hammocks, but on the last , two meat boats there was no provision ! whatever. Some men slept under the lifpbonts. while others slept on the beach under the wharf. Ho went on to deal with the food supplied to the men, and said that on some vessels it was very bad indeed. Vernon Husband, waterside worker at > Whttkatane, gave evidence regarding that port. ITe thought that if the em plovers ha,! one call a day for la-buur there and told the men when the steamer was exacted that would meet tile i-as,.. He given to understand thu; the freezing works at Whakataiip would lie re-opened next season. John Auekran. president of (lie On<liunga Waterside Workers" I'nion. said tlie waaes paid «t Oneliunga during the ; first fourteen weeks of this year ranffpd 'from '_':> I.T.'S to 'J 4 5/10. fhir. wrs one lof (lie busiest pnrinds, for it wos in the j siinimer time. The pi-esent membership was 77, and the average wage was from C 2 lfi. to .en a week. He did not think the men could live liv waterside labour if the wages were reduced to the level of the employers" propo.*aK ( Proceed ing.)