Dirty cargo described

Press, 16 October 1976, Page 3

Dirty cargo described

Parliamentary reporter

More information about the damaged cargo of the freighter Straat Agulhas, which earned a gang of Lyttelton waterside workers what are said to be record pay and allowance rates, was gained yesterday by Mr R. L. G. Talbot (Nat., South Canterbury). Mr Talbot has been described as a “stirrer” by the secretary of the Lyttelton Waterside Workers’ Union (Mr M. E. Foster) for asking the Minister of Labour (Mr

Gordon) the original written question about the ship. The answer to the question disclosed that while unloading damaged cargo from this ship in August, members of the wharf gang received a special hourly rate of $8 each, in addition to the basic rate of $2.1854 an hour.

Yesterday, Mr Gordon replied to a second question, asking what was the cargo and what were the conditions which created the special circumstances. Mr Gordon replied: “The cargo comprised mixed bagged chemicals (13 tonnes), slabs of granite

slate (7 tonnes), rolls of cardboard (13 tonnes) and approximately 100 units of miscellaneous items (5 tonnes).

“The ship’s agent who conceded the special rate of $8 per hour has advised the Waterfront Industry Commission’s branch manager at Lyttelton that the condition of the cargo was bad, being wet and smoky and dumped into the containers. A large number of the bags of chemicals were either broken, or had rotted and smelt badly. These had to be re-bagged to enable unloading to proceed.”