MARINE ENGINEERS,

Dominion, 24 February 1913, Page 4

MARINE ENGINEERS,

MOVE BY THE UNION COMPANY, The Union Steam Ship Cojtipany has made formal application to have the'dispute in which it id At'present engaged with the marine engineers in its employ heard before■ tho Conciliation • Council. Tho Application is dated February 21. The other patty to tile dispute will,be tho Marine Engineers' Institute, which is registered under the provisions of tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration ■ 'Act. Tho institute, which is affiliated or in close touch with similar todies in Australia and abroad, has about GOO New £ea-' land members, of. whom about 300 are employed ashore and the other half mostly in tho ships of tho Union Company's ileet. : . i I'rivato negotiations hare been proceeding for some time past, between tho Union Company and tho marine engineers in its employ, and it was recently reported in The Dominion that the engineers were taking a ballot, which would be completed at tho end of this month, to determine whether they should, accept ct reject the conditions offered by tho company. The matters in dispute are wages, conditions of employment, etc. The engineers desire to obtain tho same conditions as were recently granted by ajii award to tho marine engineers in Australia! Ono point in dispute in New Zealand is that of overtime,' The engineers demand over: time for all work extending over a longer period than eight hours in any ono day, while the company, it is stated* wishes to pay overtime only for the hours worked in excess of 60 in any ono week., Thus* if an engineer did no work on Sunday, but worked 58 liouw on other days of the week,- he would bo paid no overtime Under tho prorrosalrof*Tthe~"oompfl,ny, but would bo paid overtimo under the conditions demanded: by the institute. '■ . >