WATERFRONT PROBLEMS

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22656, 10 March 1939, Page 12

WATERFRONT PROBLEMS

HANDLING CARGO IN N.Z.

CONFERENCE HELD IN WELLINGTON f COMMITTEE TO PREPARE PROPOSALS MINISTER BLAMES BOTH MEN AND EMPLOYERS , (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, March 9. Conditions on the waterfront in New Zealand were discussed at a conference held at Parliament Buildings to-day to consider suggestions for improving the handling of cargo at ports. The conference" was attended by representatives’ of employers and workers concerned in waterside work; Addresses were given by the Minister for Labour (the Hon. P. C. Webb), who presided, Jhe Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash), the Minister for Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple), and the Minister for Housing (the Hon. H. T. Armstrong). All the Ministers referred to the Government’s concern at the existing situation and its desire to see an improvement. Mr Webb said that if things were to continue as they were at present the waterfront would be held up as a laughing-stock in New Zealand, if not. also, in other parts of the world. Mr Nash said that the whole economy of the Dominion had been very adversely affected by actions on the waterfront. ; After the Ministers’ addresses there was a general discussion. Though the conference finished during the afternoon, its work will be carried on by a large committee. Committee Formed In an interview at the conclusion of the conference Mr Webb said there had been free and open discussion from all angles. The general opinion was that something had to be done to improve the present situation. The general eagerness of all parties at the conference to get something worth while done was very evident. After the discussion, it had been decided to appoint a special committee representing both employers and workers, to meet again to-morrow to formulate proposals. It was generally understood that if any far-reaching proposals were suggested, both sides would be given ah opportunity to confer with their respective organisations. At the request of the conference, Mr Webb has consented to . act as chairman of the committee. The employers’ representatives on the committee are Messrs Warwick Gregory, G. G. McFarlane, A. A. Sinclair, R. J. Foreman, M. P. Condon, J. H. Duncan, W. H. Bennett Parsons, Captain R. C. Hammond, Captain S. Holm, Captain T. H. Bowling, and Captain A. J. L. Nayler. # The representatives of the workers will be the executive of the waterside workers’ organisation. The conference was not open to the press. The statements were issued afterwards by the Ministers. Various Criticisms "Ail kinds of assertions have been made,” said Mr Webb, addressing the conference, "to the effect that the plant on our waterfronts is not what it could be. Several statements have been made that the stevedoring is not what it ought to be. Other statements have been made to the effect that cargo shipped from the Old Country has got to be unloaded in Auckland —just takj ing one instance—-in order to unload Auckland cargo, and then reloaded in order to be discharged in Wellington; and that must undoubtedly add to the cost. •..Then, from the point of view of labour, It has been asserted that there is not the co-ordination or co-opera-

Uon we have a right to expect, that efficient handling of much of our cargo is not to be had, and that in many cases a certain number of men deliberately refuse to work and pull their weight at all. How much truth there is in all these statements I. guess you men here know. But this we know—that if things are to continue the way they are the waterfront will be held up as the laughing stock of New Zealand, if not also of other parts of the world. "I don’t want to start throwing bricks into the wheel, but I do want to say this—that a repetition of yesterday, and other things, reflects discredit upon the, whole organisation of the waterfront; tnd it matters not for a moment just who is to blame. The fact remains that a situation like that of yesterday should not in any circumstances crop up. My own opinion is that both sides are wrong in many ways, and I am hoping that this conference will enable us to get over that difficulty. / “If Men Are Loafing” “If the men are loafing, or some of them, I want to assure you on both sides of the table that they can expect nothing but 100 per cent, opposition as far as we are concerned; and if a man deliberately loafs he has no right to the protection of a union. _ If he gets the protection of that union, the union cannot expect, and will not get. the protection of the Government. “It has also been stated, and quite freely, that a number of our foremen are nqt altogether judicious in the way they meet their men. We had an Instance yesterday. Many of us were here all the afternoon trying to patch up a trouble, just simply because two men had a row. lam not going into the merits of that now, but I want to suggest that a row of that kind should never hold up work. The result of that quarrel’between two men meant that cargoes of apples were left on the boat and sent back to Nelson, I understand, only to come back here to-day. But the most serious feature about it was that they missed the boat they were to be loaded on. "Surely we can be bigger than that. Let us meet to-day with the idea of concentrating our intelligence and our knowledge on the problem of the waterfront, and whatever that problem may be, if we.approach it in a friendly and comradely way. we will overcome that problem. Whatever assistance the Government may be called upon to give you in an endeavour to bring about a better understanding, you can rest assured that that co-operation will be forthcoming. Enforcing Agreement “The time lost during this year worked out at about 3600 working days. You have an agreement. Why cannot that agreement be enforced? Who is to blame? How can.we overcome it? I have fought for the best part of my life to bring about agreements, and some of you men sitting round this table, I think, met 30 years ago and helped to bring about the first national agreement on the waterfronts of this country. But then we adhered to it. We never had the stoppages we have now. We had better harmony and a better spirit prevailing than we have now. Why have we reached a stage where we have to have 3000 and 4000 days lost a year? . But one is certain—that no Government, realising its responsibility, can sit down and see those qosts and charges going up all the time and the lack of organisation that prevails there at .the present time. . "Let me say to the companies that we expect you to give of your best in the way of organisation, and on the men’s side, is it too much for us to expect you to discipline,your own members? if you cannot discipline them, and if the men refuse to be disciplined by their organisation, then is it too much to say that they have no right to be on the waterfront? They should be looking for a job somewhere else. If the men think they can go on the waterfronts or on public works or any other Government building with the idea that they can please themselves what they do and how they do it, then they have got another think coming to them. “I want to appeal to you to-day to have an all -round free-for-all discussion for a start, and then let us see if we cannot evolve some scheme of control on the waterfront without having to have commissions of inquiry and throwing mud at each other. Let us forget our differences to-day, and I am confident that if we do that we are likely to bring about a state of organisation and harmony that will, mean much to the waterside workers, much to the shipping companies, and mean an enormous amount to the Government as a whole. “I am conscious of this as a result of my experience and co-operation with all the different elements of industry throughout this country, that, there is a better spirit growing up. It is up to us to cultivate that spirit and give practical expression to it in our everyday work. I believe that can be done. 1 ’ Of National Importance The Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) said he would like to say that the. Dominion was the vital factor concerned, not exclusively the waterside, workers and the shipping companies/ "It is a Dominion factor because the whole economy’of the Dominion has been very adversely affected by actions on the waterfront. Whether these are right or wrong does not concern me, because I don’t know anything about it," Mr Nash continued. “But commodities available for shipping to the Old Country were not shipped, and that has made difficulties from my point of view as Minister for Finance, and particularly as Minister for Marketing- in charge of the commodities that _ we send overseas. There is not a single hold-up on the waterfronts raf this country, whether it is by shipowners or watersiders, that does not have a detrimental effect on our, economy. It is, not a question of wages. It is a question that if you pi’event the unloading or loading of certain commodities in the most expeditious way, it has a more harmful Effect on the national economy than it does on the particular people who are interested for the moment. "The circumstances yesterday, were tragic from my point of view. I want to emphasise that it is a Government matter, a national matter, and a financial matter. I will be discussing shipowners’ freight rates, later on, and if you can make a decent arrangement here we .might be able to make a decent arrangement later oh.’’ Co-operative System Mr Semple said he thought it was quite obvious to everyone who looked round the Dominion that there was room for improvement on the-water-front. The representative of the Dunedin watersiders had stated that the men had offered to do work on a cooperative basis, but that the shipping companies had replied that they did not. want to hand over their management to the union. Mr Semple, who expressed the view that a co-operative system was a practical remedy, said there’ would, be no heed for the companies to relax their management m any shape or form. “The companies could still have the right to supervise and see that everything was done to a hard ■ and fast agreement that could be drafted to do the- job." said the Minister. “I am satisfied you .would get a greater measure of discipline, , not imposed by punishment but self-imposed by the men; if you gave to them some responsibility and sortie-interest in the job that you are doing. That is my experience. The men feel .they are part of the same : business and -take more interest in the business. They become a unit in industry and they realise that the more they do the better it will be for themselves, and in the process of doing . more for themselves ’ they are doing more for the nation. “What'is wrong with this country is that there are too many-people who to take more out of the national pboL that represents the annual production of the .nation than they put in. It cannot be done. You cannot take more/ put than is put in,” said Mr Semple, “and the volume and value of that national pool depend upon the

efforts of everyone who toils ana spins. Those who do not pull their weight are SWB’SI ISfUSSA ss matically suffers. Public Works,as Parallel "I have been talking this. to workmen on my jobs all ovei this country,” said Mr Semple. One tration is the Ngahauranga Go g • earnings of those men are pooled, and the men get out of that P°°* nut in Why cannot that principle apply to the waterfront? I say it is not impossible. I want to say fi■ , X ■ that the companies would not forieii Sse right to manage their own business I would not be the one to ask them to. I would not forfeit my rijht S Minister of the Crown or take the right away of the Chief Engineer to be master of his .job. He is the head supervisor of public works activities in this country. We have absolute control There is no question in the world about that, but the men are on a co-operative basis, and they are workin® as they have never worked before because they feel they have an in “If ß l\vere working on the principle you are .working on on the waterfront fo-day. it would cost me twice as much to do a mile of railway or road than it does I had a kick from the men about this thing. Same wanted a wage svstem and I had some trouble. You might’ask what I did with the f o tl°w who would not work. You know what I did with him and his mates. I dean him. There is no need for an emnlover to stand over the men, Because a good man will see that the other man comes up to his standard. in your system the good man goes down to the waster standard, because hesays, What is the good of my working? Expulsion from Union Mr Armstrong said it seemed to him that while the present system existed disputes would crop up time. He had often thought the umbn Should be able to discipline men who were not prepared to do. the fair thing or who-acted in defiance, not so much of the shipping companies as of the union itself and their fellow workers. That class of man was likely to wreck the finest working-class ; organisation that was ever created. . “There is a defect in the law which wants to be remedied,” said Mr Armstrong.* “I don’t think we would go very far wrong if we said we would amend the law and get the union to expel men who openly defy, their own organisation and their own rules ana agreement. The union should have the right to expel them.” Mr Armstrong said that if both sides believed in payment by results, surely there should be a solution of the problem. He thought the conference would be wise to. discuss that aspect, because it seemed there was not going ,to be a permanent solution in any of the proposals that had been submitted to him.

SHIP DELAYED BY DISPUTE

WORK RESUMED ON * NELSON FERRY ■

(press association telegram.)

WELLINGTON, March 9. Work was resumed by waterside workers on the "Anchor Company s Nelson ferry steamer Matangi to-day, blit because of the accumulation of cargo the ship was late in sailing. Instead of leaving Wellington for Nelson at 7.30 p.m., her usual time, she did not sail till 10.5.p.m. The watersiders stopped wijrk on Tuesday morning when unloading the Matangi, because of a dispute, and did not work the Arahura on Wednesday.