Picton Port Work “Not Buoyant”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30125, 8 May 1963, Page 16

Picton Port Work “Not Buoyant”

(New Zealand Press Association) BLENHEIM, May 7. Picton waterfront workers expressed grave concern at the annual meeting of their union yesterday about what they said were false impressions among the public and local authorities of the “air of buoyant prosperity” of the port since the Aramoana began operating.

The union’s secretary, Mr h Lcve, said in a statement today that, when the RangiHra and Tamahine ferries were running, the wateraiders’ annual earnings were well in excess of £9OO a year This included payments for the working of overseas and coastal ships and the payment by the employers of incentive bonuses.

This was earned under the weekly guaranteed wage of £l3 19s 3d. he said "Since the advent of the Aramoana. which has affected coastal shipping throughout New Zealand and particularly the port of Picton. our work has been drastically reduced.” said Mr Love "Because of this reduction the employers applied for and received a reduction in our guaranteed weekly "age “As a consequence ol the fall-off in shipping and the weekly wage reduction, our earnings have been further reduced by the loss of incentive bonuses." he said

While not disputing that the flow of cargo has increased tremendously with the advent of the Aramoana. It was wrong to include Aramoana tonnage figures in those handled over Waitohi wharf

from coasters and overseas vessels, which was what the weekly wage was based on. said Mr Love “No-one, it seems, has thought to ask the Railways Department how their tonnage figures are compiled To us they seem most unrealistic, as they are obviously based on a gross tonnage figure of freight and rail waggons combined “If the weight of the rail waggons is deducted to give the net tonnage of cargo shipped by the Aramoana, a very different picture would be shown ” Mr Love said that no-one could be expected to live on the new weekly guaranteed wage of £lO The watersiders felt that the answer lay in bringing in overseas ships to discharge at Picton. but this could only be done by the provision of transit sheds