SEAMEN'S CONDITIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 263, 5 November 1932, Page 7

SEAMEN'S CONDITIONS.

A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT.

VOTE ON WAGES ISSTJE.

BALLOT RESULT EST JANUARY.

As the industrial agreement under which New Zealand 6eamcn have been working for the past two years was not subject to the general order made by the Arbitration Court in June, 1931, the seamen did not suffer the 10 per cent cut almost universally applied in the case of other nnions and workers.

The question of whether this general reduction should now be accepted was referred to the various branches of tho union at stop-work meetings and the majority vote, it lias now been officially announced, was that a majority of members had agreed that this reduction should now apply, as from November I.

There is, however, no agreement yet on proposals put forward by the New Zealand Shipowners' Federation for a revision of the old agreement, which expired on August 31. proposals were discusser, by representatives of the federation last month, the conference extending from October 12 to 2s. It is understood that a tentative agreement was reached on working conditions very much on the lines of the old agreement, but little progress was made on the question of rates of pay (that is, apart from the general 10 per cent reduction).

The shipowners' proposals are now being submitted to a plebiscite vote of the seamen, and as there is likely to be considerable delay in securing the votes of members of the union on vessels at present on overseas runs, the result of this ballot may not be known until about the end of January,