Boards Blamed For Shipping Delays

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30094, 30 March 1963, Page 10

Boards Blamed For Shipping Delays

(New Zeelana Press Association) NEW PLYMOUTH, March 29. The New Zealand Meat Board would have to put its own house in order before it could expect an improvement in the turn-round of ships at New Zealand ports, a prominent member of the Taranaki Waterside Workers’ Union said at New Plymouth tonight. Men were often sent home from the wharves because the egrgo was not there for them to load, he said.

The official was commenting on recent statements about the turn-round of snips, and particularly on views expressed by the chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Production and Marketing Board. Mr A. Linton, at the board’s Taranaki ward conference at Stratford today Mr Linton said he thought a trial of shift work would probably have waterfront support, provided sufficient labour were available. ’There is no point in talking about shin work, an increase in the labour force or any other work method such as all-in loading until the Meat Board has put its house in order.” said the official. “Until this is done it 1* a travesty of justice for people to sit on committees investigating the position. “If they put their house tn order, the work on the wharves could be done in an eight-hour day ” He said the Meat Board was the main offender In the turn-round of ships because meat cargoes were often not available when a vessel came

and car «»es were unreliable "P “ £[ lani chaos," he said. There were similar problems with dairy produce but to a much leaser extent “In the spring, as the ship U arriving in port, the final part <rf its cargo is just being milked, ’ he said. "It is not uncommon for say 50 men to work a vessel which, fully manned, could take 200. but the cargo is just not there for them to load "On an average, about 100 men went home each day during the last two years because the cargo was not there for them to load," he said. “This is out of a strength at 830 men "