LONDON'S HIGH PORT CHARGES.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 116, 17 May 1924, Page 11

LONDON'S HIGH PORT CHARGES.

EXTRAORDINARY INCREASES. MORE THAN COPT OF EXTRA WAGES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 23. The inevitable aftermath of an inlustrial struggle in which Labour sireceded in obtaining a heightened wage, ins already arrived. The increases are to ■c passed on first to the trade concerns ising the port and they in their turn .vill puss them on to the public, the consumer. 'I lie "Star" is running a series of irticles with the intent to show how .liis new burden of wage cost is being nnde an excuse for excessive charges. It says, to meet every £100 paid by .he i'or't Authority in additional wages, in accordance with the recent dockers' settlement, it is proposed to gather from importers and exporters £118, in addition to which there are other in.•reased charges. A linn of merchants in the city cites the i-nse of the many thousands of tons weekly delivered over to the di.iereni whar.es for shipment to the Continent lind. ns a concrete example, say a tradei delivers by van a two-ton lot for shipment to Holland, 00 per cent of thes. goods are taken direct from the van an_ wheeled on to the boat; the charge foi this is now to be 14/2 per ton. and ii may be safely challenged that the actua labour cost does not exceed 3/, add tc this an extreme charge of 1/ for administration, and it brings forth a profil of 2..0 per cent purely on labour. "The irony is that our cost for freight is only ailKiut 7/ per ton." In analysing the proposed increase. charges in relation to the increase o dockers' wages the Port of London Au thority, in order to pay the latter ai increase of 27 per cent, were charging importers and exporters 45 per cent. There are other increases. For in stance, storage charges have been ad vanced 2 per cent, although the over head charges on the buildings are out side the scope of the wages dispute be tween the dockers and the port. The Port of London Authority has re plied to these charges: — "The new percentage increases whiol are to come into force on April 1, an as follow:—Ships. 65 per cent; disoharg ing, 100 per cent; imports and exports 100 per cent: rent on goods. 50 per cent "In April, 1022. when wages were 12 per day (which will again be the figur in June no".t), the percentage addition to the charges were respectively:—Ship. So per cent; discharging, 05 per cent imports and exports, 92j per cent; ren on goods, 85 per cent. "In their anxiety to meet the wishe of shipowners and traders, as well as t stimulate trade, the Authority last yea reduced their charges to the presen level. The expectations of increase trade wore not realised, and experienc has shown that the charges do not cove the cost of many of the services renc ered. "An estimate for the year endin March 31, 192.., indicates that with th new rates in force there will be no more than a reasonable margin of revenue over expenditure. "If it should appear at any time that the balance of revenue over expenditure will be substantially greater than.is estimated, a reduction in rates would necessarily follow." _