PORT CONGESTION AT WELLINGTON

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25081, 13 January 1947, Page 6

PORT CONGESTION AT WELLINGTON

CALL FOR NON UNION LABOUR OVERTIME HOURS NOT TO BE WORKED (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Jan, 12. A special appeal for non-union labour to supplement available union labour on the Wellington waterfront has been issued for to-morrow. There is considerable congestion of shipping in the port, and insufficient labour to cope with it. Waterfront officials say the call for non-union labour should not be interpreted as a call for “free” or “volunteer” labour. It is not uncommon for non-union gangs to supplement union labour when ports are congested. The‘union itself has offered no objection to the use of this labour provided it is not worked at present in overtime hours or on Saturdays. Non-union labour will work as a supplementary force and will be employed for the same hours as union labour. There was no further development in the waterfront dispute over the week-end. The union’s 40-hour week policy continues.

UNION ISSUING - PAMPHLET EXPLANATION OF ITS CASE ALTERNATIVE TO RADIO BROADCAST (P.A;) WELLINGTON, January 12. The principal objection of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union to its being refused broadcasting time to present its case in the national-water-front dispute was explained to-day by Mr H. Barnes, union president, who said: “There might have been a case to make for refusing the union the right to reply to the Minister of Labour (Mr A. McLagan) but, when a statement from Mr K. Baxter, secretary of the Federation of Labour, was given wide publicity over the air, the issue was then made controversial. I think no one, whatever he might think of the dispute, will deny that the union should be able to have the same time to reply. Furthermore, we were prepared to buy time on the commercial network, which was also refused." Mr Barnes added that as a result of the refusal of broadcasting time a pamphlet was being published by the union this week-end, briefly setting out the facts of the dispute from the union’s viewpoint. “The situation in New Zealand as far as broadcasting is concerned places the union in the same position as resistance movements in occupied Europe during the war,” said Mr Barnes. “In order to speak to freedomloving people they had to broadcast over illegal radio channels or from other countries.”

Interviewed about the report that a request had been made by the Waterside Workers’ Union for broadcasting facilities to state its case, the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash), who is acting for the Prime Minister (Mr P. Fraser) during his absence from Wellington, said that his answer when approached by reporters on the question was that no request had been made to him and that he had not been advised of any request. Federation’s Broadcast

On behalf of the Waterside Workers* Union, the secretary (Mr T. Hill) said to-day that the union was still negotiating for radio time in Australia with the object of enabling New Zealand listeners to hear the union’s case. There was no objection to the opportunity which had been given the Federation of Labour in having its statement broadcast over the national stations last Monday night, but the union was astonished to find it was not allowed a right of reply. This, he said, was surely a privilege which could be expected in a democratic country. From many sections of the community, particularly the trade union movement, there had been a long-standing demand for freedom of discussion on the air and it would be an intelligent advance if the broadcasting system could be used for this democratic purpose. “If we are to be denied the right to time the Federation of Labour was given.” Mr Hill added, “then no matter how much some sections of the community may dislike and oppose watersiders they will appreciate at what disadvantage we are being placed. We would not be fighting this very serious battle if we did not have a very real cause to uphold.”