WORK ON WHARVES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 44, 21 February 1940, Page 10

WORK ON WHARVES.

DELAYED AWARD. STATEMENT BY EMPLOYERS. ACTIONS REVIEWED. (Br Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The delay in the making of a newaward for waterside work throughout the Dominion is the subject of a statement by Mr. W. H. G. Bennett, general secretary of the New Zealand Waterside Employers' Association, The statement says:— "The term fixed for the expiry of the currency of the award was .lune 30, 1938, and such award, by virtue of the provisions of the I.C. and A. Act, continues in force until a new award replaces it. Any of the parties to the award has a right, on June 30, to make application under the Act for a new award. The employers promptly prepared the necessary proposals for a new award and delivered these proposals to the Employees' Union on July 1, 1938. "As the union refused to accept these proposals within the given time, a request for settlement of the dispute by a conciliation council was made to the clerk of awards. The request was agreed to, and Mr. K. E. Price was appointed conciliation commissioner, and he duly fixed September 20. 1938, as the date the council should hear the dispute.

"The union wished to have a conference of parties instead of a council of conciliation, but the employers would not agree to depart from the statutory methods, of dealing with a dispute. Without consulting the employers, the union arranged with the commissioner to postpone the date of meeting of the council from September 20, 1938, to October 11, 1938. The union also desired that the council should meet at Auckland, Christchurch, Napier, Dunediu and Wellington. Meeting at Auckland. "The council held its first meeting at Auckland on October 18, 1938, and finally concluded its sittings on December 8, 1938. The commissioner addressed the recommendations to the employer* for signature of assessors on December 24, 1938. The recommendations were signed by the employers' assessors and sent to the union on January 0, 1939, but though requests were made for the return of documents *o that they could be filed with the clerk of awards in time for the dispute to bo heard by the Court of Arbitration, which was to open in Wellington on February 2, 1939, the recommendations were not returned till February 17, 1939, still lacking one signature, which was finally obtained on February 22, 1939, 47 days after the papers had been handed to the union. "The Court opened at Wellington to arrange fixtures for the hearing of disputes on February 2, 1939, but the union did not attend, nor was it represented. "The employers' representatives asked the Court to fix a date when it would be convenient for the union to attend | with the employers to arrange for hearing the dispute, and the Court agreed to meet the parties in chambers. This meeting was held, and as a result another conciliation council meeting was held, and new recommendations were filed. Since then the Court has not sat at Wellington, and the dispute still waits hearing. Offer by Employers. "Had the original recommendations been signed by the union'«, representatives within a reasonable time they could have been filed with the clerk of awards before the Court opened on February 2, 1939. and the dispute would have been officially before the Court when the Court opened to make fixtures. "The employers have offered the union to co-operate with them in approaching the Government to expedite the hearing of the dispute by a proper tribunal, but the union has taken up the stand that wages must be increased before any conditions of award or schemes for improvement of loading and discharging ships can be discussed. "It is no secret for the past three years the waterside workers have been receiving high wages for a quite moderate working week owjng to the extra rates and concessions given by the employers in the 1937-38 award. "The employers of waterside labour on overseas ebips in their anxiety to give some incentive to the men to expedite the loading of overseas ships submitted a scheme for payment by results, but the union turned the idea down, simply refusing to discuss it. Under this scheme the men could increase their earning* materially without any hardship to them."