HOURS OF WORK ON WHARVES

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24570, 19 May 1945, Page 6

HOURS OF WORK ON WHARVES

REPLY TO COMMENT BY EMPLOYERS

UNION’S DECISION DEPENDED BY PRESIDENT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, May 18, "Our object In still working on Sundays is that we consider that while the war situation warrants the working week being reduced by four hours, a reduction by 12 hours would be unwarranted.” said the president of the New Zealand Waterside. Workers’ Union (Mr H. Barnes), in reply to the employers’ comment on the union’s decision to cease working on Saturday afternoons. The comment had been that it was significant that the workers wanted Saturday afternoon off, rather than stop working on Sundays, when they received a higher rate. “If shipping and other interests feel that work on Sundays is unwarranted. I can assure them the waterside workers will be only too pleased to knock off on Sundays also.” added Mr Barnes. • , . . Referring to statements by the chairman of the Waterfront Control Commission (Captain R. E. Price), Mr Barnes said it was true that waterfront work was of a casual nature, and while a man might not be called upon to work the prescribed hours every week, the work in the last three or four years had been very constant, and the average number of hours worked -by men on the day shift had been very high indeed. It had to be remembered that the average embraced all men in the union, including half-rate members who could earn only £52 a year. Captain Price was generalising, added Mr Barnes, The union was aware that in a number of the smaller ports, the men were not working full hours, and for this reason no reduction had been proposed. The reduction would apply only to the main ports, where the hours of work were excessive. As far as not being compelled to work was concerned, the union had made constant protests about the right of men to knock off at 5 o’clock, but had not been met in the matter.

STATEMENT BY HON. J. O’BRIEN

CONTINUOUS WORKING OF SHIPS NECESSARY

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, May 18. Replying yesterday to a statement made recently in Auckland bv Mr H. Barnes, president of the Watersiders’ Union, that waterslders were not going to work at the larger ports on Saturday afternoons, the Acting-Minister of Labour (the Hon. J. O’Brien) said that no one would dispute the fact that many workers had been called upon to work long hours, and that the strain was being increasingly {elt by these workers. The point, however, was that the necessity for continuous working on ships in order to turn them round as quickly as possible was just as urgent, if not more so, now than at any other period of the war. Unreasonable overtime was not Insisted upon, and in fact it would be a bad policy. He was quite prepared to discuss the matter with the union to see how far they could go in freeing men on Saturday afternoons without involving the complete cessation of work on these afternoons. Animal Clinic.—During April, 76 dogs, 80 cats, four birds, and two rabbits were treated at the clinic of the Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Ctuelty to Animals. Free advice was given to 89 persons.