MOUNTPARK DISPUTE

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25547, 15 July 1948, Page 4

MOUNTPARK DISPUTE

Negotiations Opened Again CONFERENCE OF PARTIES (F.A.) WELLINGTON, July 14. New discussions on the disputed order of reference for the tribunal to deal with the Mountpark dispute at Auckland were opened to-day and will be continued to-morrow. Those taking part are representatives of the Waterside Workers’ Union, the New Zealand Federation of Labour, and legal advisers for the Union Steam Ship Company, Ltd., and Waterfront Industry Commission. The proposal of the Waterside Workers’ Union that the terms of the order of reference should be argued before the chairman of the tribunal has not been regarded as practicable. Discussions were therefore conducted to-day among the parties directly concerned at the request of the Minister of Labour (Mr A. McLagan)-. Mr H. Barnes, president of the Waterside Workers’ Union, who had returned to Auckland on Tuesday, flew back to-day and headed the union delegation. Mr F. P. Walsh, vice-pre-sident of the Federation of Labour, and Mr K. McL. Baxter, secretary, represented the federation. • Mr T. Hill, secretary of the union, said to-night that at this stage there was no settlement but that discussions would be resumed to-morrow. It is expected that if a settlement; can be reached on the order of reference it will dispose of the question whether the Broompark dispute is to be included. Also to be dealt with is the watersiders’ claim for an amendment of the Harbour Regulations governing the safety of hatches. The Waterside Workers’ Union executive has decided that representatives of the union and the Federation of Labour should meet the Minister of Marine (Mr F. Hackett) in an attempt to arrange for the revision of the regulations during the present session of Parliament. Officials of the organised trade union movement are said to have generally agreed that five of seven points in the watersiders’ proposed order of reference should have consideration although there is some disagreement over their wording.

MR FRASER’S VIEW OF DISPUTE MEN BADLY LED (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 14. Ey refusing to handle the Mountpark hatches, which had been handled by watersiders in other New Zealand and Australian ports, Auckland watersiders had under bad leadership volun- 1 tarily and misguidedly inflicted on themselves the penalty of refusing to earn wages which were available to them, said the Prime Minister (Mr P, Fraser) in a written reply in the House of Representatives to-day to a question asked by Mr R. M. Algie (Opposition, Remuera). “To end this deplorable state of affairs, with its self-inflicted penalities, a tribunal to decide the matters at issue has been offered to the men concerned,” said Mr Fraser. Mr Algie had asked if the Government wished to secure a settlement of the waterfront dispute by exhausting the reserves of the savings of the men and by reducing them to submission by a process of attrition. Mr Fraser said average earnings on the waterfront had risen from £2 18s 10d a week in 1932-33 to £lO ICs 7d in 1947-48. The savings of the Auckland watersiders could be safeguarded by commonsense acceptance, of the Government’s offer. Action at New Plymouth Before the written replies were circulated Mr W, A. Sheat (Opposition, Patea) gave notice to ask the Min* ister of Labour (Mr A. McLagan) ■ whether his attention had been called to the fact that watersiders at New Plymouth were refusing to unload sulphur from two holds of the vessel Glenbank and whether such action con- - 1 stituted a strike. If so had a secret ballot of those affected been taken as provided for in the legislation of last session and if not would the Minister. ** forthwith order a ballot to be con* ? ducted by the registrar. When Mr Sheat continued, “In order to prevent the fomenting of further ■ extensions of the present waterfront deadlock,” he was interrupted by Mr Speaker (Mr R. McKeen) on the ground that he was introducing comment into his Question. “NEVER SO STUPID A DISPUTE” OPINION OF MR J. ROBERTS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 14. ‘‘l have seen many industrial disputes created both by employers and by workers which were stupid, but I have never seen one so stupid as the one holding up the port of Auckland at the present time,” said Mr J. Roberts in the Address-in-Reply debate in the Legislative Council today. Mr Roberts, who is president of the New Zealand Labour Party and former >. secretary of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union, said that if the dispute was won by either side it would not matter a row of tacks. Every ■ stoppage of work and every case of a , go-slow in production meant less in . the national pool of wealth and more could not be taken out of that pool than was put into it. . He could understand industrial troubles in the past, but to-day there were full employment, reasonable wages, and a high living standard and every facility was given for the adjustment of industrial disputes, yet troubles still continued, and if they,,.. persisted the valuable conditions of employment cherished by the workers would be lost, said Mr Roberts. -r : ' '<■ STATEMENT BY MR BARNES RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOLDUP (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 13. If the Minister of Labour did not allow the waterfront tribunal order or ? reference to be argued before the tribunal’s chairman, he would stand M condemned and there should be a demand for his removal from office ana retirement from public life, said the president of the Waterside Workers j Union (Mr H. Barnes), 'in a telephony interview from Auckland. If the Minister did not accept tne watersiders’ new proposition ana Auckland watersiders continued to be locked out to-morrow, then it would be abundantly clear to every man, woman, and child, who was responsible for the hold-up. The Minister’s clumsy attempt to;apportion responsibility for the hold-up at Auckland would surely fool no one* said Mr Barnes. “Mr McLagan has made reference to dictatorship by saying that I directed members of the union to hold up ships,” said Mr Barnes. “That was the subject of charges during the war against me, which resulted in an ig’ , nominious dismissal of the charges. The union in this instance was not going to allow the Minister to dictate an order of reference for the tribunal, , continued Mr Barnes. In an attempt to end the Auckland lock-out, it bad now been proposed that the order ox reference be argued before the tribunal chairman.