DUNEDIN AND PORT CHALMERS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20630, 20 August 1932, Page 19

DUNEDIN AND PORT CHALMERS.

WORK AT A STANDSTILL. STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT OF UNION. [THE PRESS Specla-1 Serrlct.l DUNEDIN*, August 10. No work, was carried out on the local waterfront to-day. When' a call was made for labour to work the Kaikorai, which arrived at Dunedin in the early hours of the morning from Geclong direct with a cargo of wheat, there was no response. No call was made during the afternoon, and shipping was at a complete standstill. ■During the morning the coastal steamer Gale and tho Canadian Conqueror, from Montreal via northern ports, arrived at Dunedin, and tho Eiscus, with a cargo of phosphates from Nauru Island, was berthed at Port Chalmers. Later in the day the Union Company's steamer, Waikouaiti, upon which all cargo working operations had boen completed the previous evening, was dispatched for Bluff. There, were therefore four vessels idle on the local waterfront. Tho coastal steamer, John, from Wellington, is due some time tomorrow. The Executive Committee of the Dunedin Waterside Workers' Union sat all day, but the results of its deliberations are not available. It is understood that a full meeting of members of the union will be held at 8 a.m. to-mor-row, and that a decision as to the attitude to be adopted by Ihe local men will then be arrived at. Officials of the Port Chalmers Union were very reticent regarding the position there and would make no definite statement as to the course of action which it was intended to pursue. A large amount of cargo for Dunedin and Port Chalmers is affected. The Kaikorai has on board a total of 50,404 sacks of wheat, of which 1000 tons, representing about 20,000 sacks, are for Dunedin millers, the remainder being consigned to Oamaru and Lyttclton. The Canadian Conqueror has 211 tons for discharge locally, and the Eiscus has 1800 tons of phosphate to unload at Port Chalmers and 2700 tous at Ravensbourne. The Gale has about 50 tons, and the John, it is understood, is bringing a further 100 tons for this port.

Present Situation Deplored. The president of the Dunedin Waterside; Workers' Union (Mr D. Copland) said that the local union deplored the present situation. Tit pointed out, however, that the union had had no share in the negotiations towards n set 1 lenient beyond taking part in the Conciliation Council meeting held here last February, when a visit had been paid to this city by assessors for the shipping companies. Nothing definite had been arrived at then in connexion with local conditions, practically everything being referred to n further silting of the Conciliation Council at Wellington. At the end of the sitting of the latter Council the chief spokesman for tho shipping companies had complimented both the unions of Dunedin and Port Chalmers on the harmony which existed between tha local shipping companies and tho two unions. .Since that meeting of the Conciliation Council the Dunedin union had never been consulted in any further negotiations that had taken place, and with the meagre knowledge possessed by the local union it appeared that the union was left to make its own agreement with the shipping companies in Dunetlin. A difficulty immediately arose in connexion with this line of action, however, as it was understood that the local shipping companies were powerless to act, being mainly controlled by the proposals outlined in the schedule of conditions submitted by the shipping companies throughout New Zealand. Wages of Workers. Mr Copland said that it liad taken a period of 10 years to bring the present stato of affairs into being, hut if the proposals submitted by the employers were given effect to practically all the benefits secured during that time would be lost. While they admitted that there was a serious depression in trade and in tho economic position generally they, as waterside workers, contended that they had hacl to bear the effects of this to as great an extent, if not greater, than the shipping companies. Before the first 30 per cent, cut in wages had been introduced the waterfront workers at this port had suffered nt least n "5 Iter cent, reduction in their earning power. The -10 per cent, cut had been brought into force in .Tune, 10"1, and of course members of the union in common with the rest of the community, j were compelled to pay the quarterly ( levy and the Is in the £ wnges tnx On ton of all this, the new proposals sub- j mitted by the shipping companies would j impose upon waterside workers ft further 10 per cent, reduction in wages. The average weekly earnings of waterfide workers since .Tune of last year amounted to between £2 fis and £2 10s. While the shipping companies had derived the benefit, from these reductions in wages, it wafl stated that they had never passed on to the public a corresnondinq' lowering in chnrges, the saving effected foing into the Pockets of the owners who, it was claimed, were mostlv resident outside New Zealand. Unsatisfactory Terms. Mr Copland said that to summarise the position the terms at present offered by the shipping companies greatly al.tcred tho conditions of work and were unsatisfactory to the men. He emphasised th'o point, however, that the men were not anxious that there should be any liold-up of work on the waterfront, and that so far as his union was concerned they were ready to negotiate with the employers whenever called upon to do so. , , . . As to the attitude of the local shipping companies, no information is available beyond tho fact that a call will be made for labour to-morrow morning. AN AUCKLAND INCIDENT. (I'BXSS ASSOCIATION TELEOBAM.) AUCKLAND. August K>. The only vessels on which cargo vvas worked this morning were (hose lor which labour had been engaged before to-day. Consequently there was no occasion to engage men at the first calltime to-day. About 1.00 men were present i.t the rostrum at 8 o'clock, and a diversion was ereuted when a man hurriedly distributed pamphlets, which some ol the wateisideis present apparently expected to contain instructions. However, it was an appeal signed by the local Communist .Party calling on , t '. | ® ivatersidcrs to adopt the slogan All Out For a General Strike" and attacking Messrs J. Roberts, secretary, and L. Glover, president, of the i>cw Zealand Watersiders' Federation. Several of the pamphlets were torn up after the men had glanced at them. One of the men said they were opposing the new working conditions rather than the new wage rates.