Seamen To Limit Ferry Sailings

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32266, 8 April 1970, Page 1

Seamen To Limit Ferry Sailings

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 7. The Seamen’s Union will restrict sailings of the Cook Strait ferries from next Monday.

From Monday no rail ferry will sail after 10 pun. This will affect about eight services a week. The inter-island steamer Maori will not carry cargo on Sundays or on night voyages when a day voyage has been made that day.

Next week no roll-on ships, such as the Maheno, Marama or Hawea, will sale after noon or before 7 a.m. on weekdays. None will leave port at week-ends.

If certain award matters are not settled next week the dispute could spread to other ships on the New Zealand coast The president of the Seamen’s Union (Mr W. Martin) said tonight that the restrictions were being introduced after union members, at stopwork meetings today,- had authorised the executive to take appropriate action. The members had given their authorisation in the light of the protracted award negotiations, started in April, 1969, and still not completed, although the award had expired seven months ago, Mr Martin said. His members did not want to inconvenience the travelling public, but the restrictions on night and week-end sailings had been instituted because award negotiations had failed on two major issues—the question of payment for week-end leave, and the refusal to provide in the ' existing agreement for i double time to be paid after extended hours of overtime 1 work. |

Mr Martin said that while he regretted that up to eight rail ferry sailings might have to be cancelled, the interisland steamer would still

carry passengers, passengers’ baggage, cars and livestock at night, and on Sundays, even though no general cargo was being accepted. If agreement were not reached next week on the matters under dispute similar restrictions would be placed on all New Zealand-

manned ships on the coast from Monday, April 20, he said.

If there was still no settlement in the week beginning Monday, April 27, no New Zealand-manned ship on the coast would sail at the weekend or between noon and 7 a.m. on week-days. Mr Martin said direct action seemed the only language the Shipowners’ Federation understood, and the restrictions had been placed on certain sailings in an attempt to make the shipowners finish the award negotiations.