DISPUTE AT WHARF

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 5, 1 May 1939, Page 5

DISPUTE AT WHARF

TOA'S UNLOADING DELAYED .

MEN REFUSE TO WORK A

DOUBLE GANG

The first serious dispute for a considerable time whiclj has held up work on the Whakatane waterfront occurred on Friday, when the men were idle for upwards of two hours while awaiting the solution of trouble which had arisen owing to an at. tempt by the employers to unload the Northern Shipping Go's Toa wi,h a double gang.

Carriers stood by and businessmen waited anxiously for urgent shipments while the men talked with Mr C. N. Chamberlain, the Northern Company's agent.

The men say that they objected to work double gangs because the gangs would have been short handed. They said that they were ready to work overtime, and that they could havo worked on Thursday night. They claim that the company wants to get their labour for a few shillings a week and that they are not getting the opportunity to earn sufficient wages to keep themselves going.

Mr Chamberlain when approached by a pressman, said that the men got their way largely because ti.e trouble occurred at the end of the week. Had the dispute cropped up at the beginning of the week, he saui he might have taken different steps, but the holiday on Sunday made the position difficult.

"The trouble is,he said, "that the men want to earn their week's wages in a couple of days. Here we are with two sets of, gear on the .boat and only one in, use while people are calling out for their goods. As far as work on Thursday night goes it is not the men's place to say when they are to work, and they were not put on because rain was threatening. In fact it did rain.

"There were two sets of gear available and on Friday it was decided to use them and get the cargo out. However, through sickness it so happened that there were only 14 men on hand instead of the 16 needed, and the men would not work the short gang." The cargo was worked until li o'clock on Friday night and loading was completed in intermittent rain on Saturday morning, the Toa sailing on the afternoon tide.