FERRY SERVICE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 17021, 18 December 1920, Page 8

FERRY SERVICE.

HOLD-UP THREATENED. COOKS AND STEWARDS TO GIVE NOTICE. It is understood that t"hero is a possibility of the ferry servic© being held up next, week, owing to the Marine Cooks and Stewards' Union ceasing "work as a result of a dispute with the Union Steamship Company regarding the payment of a bonus of £2 a month. A member of the imion informed a representative of "The Press" yesterday that meetings of members of the union were held on tho ferry steamers the previous day, when it was unanimously agreed to hand in to-day at Wellington and Lyttelton 24 hours' notice of their Intention to quit the ships. The notices will be effective on Monday, and should no agreement bo arrived at in the meantime, the ferry service may be temporarily suspended. Under the Board of Trade regulations it is not compulsory for a vessel to carry cooks or stewards, although tne crew must be provided with a certain standard of food. This means that it is only necessary to carry a cook for the crew. Therefore, if nocessary, the ferry steamers could be run without stewards. Tho question is, whether in this event the sen men and firemen would ,-jct in sympathy.. It is expected in shipping circles that they would do so, but up till n-lato hour last night no instructions had been received in Lvttalton front tho headquarters of the Seamen's and Firemen's Union in Wellington in tho matter. If the cooks and stewards do take action it will be the first ttxnc thev have 3one so 511100 tho operation of unionism j in New Zealand. | UNION COMPANY RETICENT. j (srrcTAi, To "the press.") j DUNKDTX, December 17. The Union Company is reticent concerning tho rumoured stewards' sttHco. There is nothing to say so far as tho company is concernedtiore. INTERCOLONIAL TRAFFIC. STEAMERS STILL DETAINED. (By Cable—Press Association—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cablo Association.) SYDNEY, December 17. A mass meeting of stewards will this morning review tho position. Tho engineers, seamen, butchers, and bakers view the hasty actfbn of tho stewards with disfavour. They point out that tho strike meeting was not representative of tho stewards' organisation. Later. The meeting decided unanimously to fight on, and the next move must como from tho employers and owners. It is stated that whether all the projected sailings will bo cancelled will depend on tho. result of tho meeting of tho transport workers who are considering what action to adopt. It is learned unofficially that the transporters have decided to support the strikers, bo presumably all sailings will be cancelled. It is announced from Melbourne that the seamen also are awaiting the result of the transporters' meeting before they decide whether or not they will join tho strike. ===============