Officers keep ship in port

Press, 25 February 1977, Page 6

Officers keep ship in port

A dispute between ship’s; officers aboard the interisland roll-on ship Coastal Ranger and the Shipping Corporation has delayed the. ship in Lyttelton for two' days. The Coastal Ranger was to. have sailed for Wellington on [ Wednesday, after a three-day] survey. but ship’s officers refused to take her to sea until acceptable margins of pay between themselves and the < ew were re-established. It was hoped that a solution arrived at bv the Shipping Industry’ Tribunal ini Wellington would be l accepted by the officers! today, to enable the ship toi sail. The tribunal suggested j vesterday that the officers ! continue working for another j 21 days so that a solution tould be worked out with the G ivemment and the Shipping . Corporation. The basic problem on the Coastal Ranger, according to, •he secretary of the Merch-i <nt Service Guild (Captain J. W. Dickenson), is that the ■rew are paid wages and! j overtime rather than an

wage, as on other ships. This meant that the crew ; were earning extremely high J wages — in many cases more Than the officers. Captain Dickenson said. The boatswain's annual pav is believed to be about $15,000. To re-establish relativitv, officers must have a pay increase of at least 30 per "cent. Captain Dickenson said. However, the guild realised this would naturally have a ■ i.flow-on effect on to other i ships, and would spell dis- ■ latter for the New Zealand J shipping industry, he said. ,i The guild originally preisented the corporation with : an ultimatum to restore relaitivitv in December, to expire ion February 14. This was I later extended to the present ; survey period, and a further extension has now been a.-’:ed for by the tribunal. Captain Dickenson admitted that the problem was “a curly’ one.” However. I he said that the guild was not asking that crew members’ wages be reduced — simply jthat a level of relativitv be 'reintroduced. ,