Smooth Start; Trouble Seen

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30712, 30 March 1965, Page 3

Smooth Start; Trouble Seen

New waterfront hours, involving a change from 8 a.m. to 7 a.m. went into effect smoothly in Wellington. Waterside workers, harbour board staff and shipping company men worked in unison.

However, an official of the Wellington Amalgamated Waterside Workers’ Union predicted trouble “in the near future” over the transference of labour from ship to ship.

Mr G. Tuau, secretary of the union, said: “The action of the Port Employers Association, who are endeavouring to make transfers for replacement work a mandatory obligation under the new hours of work on the waterfront, is a straight-out breach of the provisions of the award.” If a ship finished early in the afternoon the men went home if there was no other Work in the port. They could all be transferred elsewhere If there was a shortage of labour, he said. But the right of a man to take another’s place for a night only replacement, however, had been entirely voluntary.

The new hours were based on an 8 a.m. start and a 5

p.m. finish with the right of a worker to cease work after eight hours begun in the morning, said Mr Tuau. NEW AGREEMENT The matter of a compulsory transference of men for “night only” had not been discussed on a national level and to change the provisions governing this matter, a new agreement should be arrived at, he said. “The attitude of the port employers has not been helpful in the change-overs of hours in this port. The union has been confronted with obstruction in implementing the change-over, even though the principle was agreed nationally as far back as February 12.

“It is not the desire of the workers to become involved in disputes but the attitude of the employers is provocative,” said Mr Tuau. In the meantime, watersiders will still have their “Friday night off” ceasing work at 5 p.m. and working the new hours on a Monday to Friday basis only. Saturday morning overtime will still be from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.