LYTTELTON WATERSIDE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1926, Page 10

LYTTELTON WATERSIDE.

SATURDAY WORK QUESTION.

EXTRA PAY CONCEDED. "WAIT TILL SATURDAY." (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") CHRISTCHURCH, this day. ! Althouzh no definite statement was made after tb* ?iop-work meeting of the I.ytteltori waterside workers yesterday mornir.Er. a remark made by Mr. J. Flood, secretary of the Watersiders' Union, "was rather ominous. "Wait until Saturday, and then c?* ready for a long story. , ' he said, when asked if he had anything to report. The Lyttelton watersiders held a stopwork meeting from S to 10 o'clock during the morning to consider the agreement reached at the conference at Wellington last week between the repreaenI tatives of the shippins employers ana the I.yttekon Waterside Workers' i Union in connection with the recent dispute at Lyttelton. There were about : />QO watersiders present, but the Watersiders' Federation was not represented. It is said that the basis of the agreement was that the Lyttelton water=idera were to be asked to work on ; Saturday afternoons so as to permit of . the sailing of any vessels which the 'owners were anxious to dispatch. There 'is a proviso that any waters:der who 'wants an afternoon off will be granted I that privilege so long as he makes such ; application to the union beforehand. J The agreement carried with it the : employers' concession of lid an hour 'extra, as already granted at other ports j which work on Saturday afternoon. The I payment is to be retrospective from j November 8 last. It was thought that a i ballot would probably be taken on the i issue, but such a course was not pur- ■ sued, presumably on account of the pre- ; ponderance of those in favour of the ' Saturday half holiday. j When the meeting concluded, work •was resumed on the waterfront. When Mr. Flood was approached after the J meeting he said that he had no official ! statement to make, and then added the ! remark quoted above. So far as can be ascertained, the great majority of the men had already determined not to work on Saturday afteri noons. i A meeting of the employers' represeni tatives, at which the foremen for the j several shipping companies were present. I was heJd simultaneously with the [waterside workers' meeting. The trend jof the discussion related to the terms upon which the men might agree to work on Saturday afternoons, but the meeting concluded without any definite proposition being formulated, beyond that reached at the Wellington conference, and it was decided to wait the result of the watersiders' stop-work meeting.