Decision Soon On Cargo Handling At Two Ports

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30724, 13 April 1965, Page 22

Decision Soon On Cargo Handling At Two Ports

The New Zealand Port Employers’ Association is expected to decide within a week its policy on the handling of goods in the new Cashin quay transit sheds and the new transit sheds at Timaru.

Inquiries in Timaru showed that Timaru watersiders and port administrators were closely watching developments in the Cashin quay cargo handling issue. In Auckland and Dunedin carriers pick up the cargo from the transit shed floors. In Wellington, waterside workers do all manual work in moving cargo into and out of the transit sheds. While Lyttelton last week had reached a deadlock on the translit shed issue, with the Lyttelton watersdders calling on the Canterbury Trades Council for support, the manager of the Timaru branch of the New Zealand Stevedoring and Wharfingering Company (Mr J. E. Rose) said: “Everybory here has a pride in the port. Our carpenters, watersiders and harbour board have a pride in working this port. “Everyone is co-operative to make the place go. Take the new Timaru meat loader, for instance. The Timaru watersiders are determined to make that work,” he said. The chairman of the Timaru branch of the New Zealand Port Employees’ Association (Mr R. L. R. Davidson) said that Timaru did not have any trouble about amenties blocks for its new transit shed.

“We planned our amenities block in .conjunction with the transit shed,” he said. The amenities block built into the transit shed was ready for use. Timaru Board’s View

The secretary-manager of the Timaru Harbour Board (Mr N. de V. Lawrence) said I that the board would prefer

to see in Timaru, for economical reasons, the Auckland system where carriers did the handling from floor to truck, using their own labour. But in shipping circles in Timaru it is felt that the watersiders may get the transit shed cargo handling job. As in Lyttelton, Timaru has a new transit shed, which will soon be available for use. And as in Lyttelton, the problem is: who is going to handle the cargo in the transit shed from floor to lorry? lit is being debated at all levels. Mr Lawrence said: “Timaru has an identical situation to Lyttelton. In both ports the waterside workers are adamant that the floor-to-lorry cargo handling job is rightfully theirs.” The Timaru Harbour Board has no specific date for the opening of its transit shed, but Mr Lawrence said that “naturally it wishes to see all differences with watersiders resolved before the Timaru operations begin.”

Mr Lawrence said he felt that the Cashin quay transit shed would be working before Timaru’s shed.