WHARF INTRIGUES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2130, 23 April 1914, Page 6

WHARF INTRIGUES.

LETTING IN.'LIGHT,

SEPARATION OF UNIONS OPPOSED,

BOARD DROPS OUT.

A certain amount of light iws throjvn, at the meeting of tho 'Harbour Hoard last ©veiling, on 'tho labour coniplieetions which exist on the losal wa lerfront. Two letters were laid before lh<> board. Ono of them, received on April 13, came , from a Mr. J. Hill on behalf of a committee- claiming to represent the members of u. proposed union of casual employees of tho Harbour Iteind. 'fho letter covered a set of rules, nm.l set out in detail tbo cummttk'o'a representations iu favour of tlio formation of the new union, It was_ ssibm-iited that there W«s 3it> comtniiuity of interest between tho employees of the. board, thosD of tho various shipping companies, ami the coal workers. Further, tbnfc tlio officials of tho present uiiioii did not protect the interests of the Sarbour Board section, nnd that the latter iad no voice i» the mnnappnent of tho union. The president, it was stated, was a dictator who appointed his own lieutenants and fixed their salaries, and even turned (kivvji the executive, In tho new tiniun the secretary .would, bo tho oii)y paid oflUiial. The present union, it was stated, cost nearly £2.5 per week to administer. The promoters of tho new iiitKin, tho letter stated, wished t<) work under tho Arbitration Act in hai'tiiony with the feosird, and' were satisfied with existing wages and conditions. Tho rules of tho now body were based upon those of'tho old Waterside tjmoiij nut clauses of a Socialistic tendency had been excisf.d, Tho board secretary also read a letter, dated April. 21, from Mr. E. J. Jones (assistant-secretary of the Wellington Wharf JJat/owers' Industrial Union, of Workers), objecting to the formation of tlib new union, and enclosing the followi.jig protest signed' by 85 casual employees of tlio HarhoTir Board:— "Wo, tbo undersigned financial members o.f the Wellington Wharf ; ' Labourers' Industrial Union. of Workers' regular and casual employees of tho Harbour Board, desiro to oijter out pretest against ony attempt being made to form a separate union, and further .to protest against the manner in wliiph such attempt has, been nwdo."

A Deputation in Protest. Messrs. E. J. Jones (assistant-score*, tary of tlie Wharf Labourers' Union) , (imt Mr. M-Gavin, a member of tho Onion aad an emplo3 r CD of the ilflrbowr Board, attended as a. deputation. Mr. Jciees thaiikod tJio board for receiving them, and said that its principal object was to present; a protest from tho cast_(sl employees of tho Harbour Board Bgainat- any attempt being mado to form a' sepaj*at«'uiiiDii on tlie waterfront. Hβ pointed , 'to,the fact thai the written protest bore 83 signatures, and atitod that all -who hsvcl signed wer-a Harbour Board employees. Mi , . James went on to ' state that- he personally appeared o.s an executh'o official of tho present wniou. H« liad very little to_ Say except that tho executive wished to strenuously opposo any atlompt to ftii'm a sapiirato union on tho waterfront nu-feas-tliat union \rero eomjwied cs-elu-sivcslr of permanent tamls in tlio board's employ, ,i»d not of casuals m nfty sense of the word. If the Harbour Koard or any shipping company liked to s-ofc tip a permanent staff; tfen the uniea executive would 1» quite willing that Urn men eoneerned should form a separato union. 'fhc chaifman said that tSie mombers of iho permanent etttffi would liot bo menihers of any union. The- lroemfeers of tba permanent staff of the Harbour Beard to-day were not mombers of any union. ■' • JTr. Jefies eakl thtii the eseCTltive of his union would strennmisiy object' to any of rts rnenibers seceding and ■forinuig a soparste union. This weiilxl not comluco to Hio welfare of employees,, oji the waterfront. .

Board Chairman's Attitude. Tlio chairman' sa?d_ that when this matter iv-ns first- raised his idea- was that it jvas proposed to set up n- union eamßosp'd of .wen engaged exclusivelyon Harbour Board work, and later oil to form similar unions for stevedorinc; \\-ixk, but that tliftv , would att b,e branches nf one union. This idea -ho ' bad been inclined to favour, ronsideruio: 'that it \Vould tpwj to «i> able- men ■ eugagwl in a particular department o£ work to become more expert at- itv The board was not in a. nositiou to recognise a sosarato union, however, becrinsc it vras botimJ by the aereeuiwif with the present union. "Sir. Jones said iltafc this application represented tho thin end of Hie wettao. If it succeeded there w<mld lin an attempt to form a number of small unions nlmig tho waterfront, . A iiumW of tliosn who lin.d signed the applicntwti hftd never heon given an op-' porimiity of attenditig . any mcetinn to j fmisupr tvlint luid'been placed uwere [ r,K<s HaVbrtiir Board. JTany ■■ of those nvlio 'signed f-lie fMimsitioti asking for a j BOfmrato union did so under a misapj preheflsien. /

Workers Not Consulted, Sir. Si'Gavin said that he was a woolworker iii fho employ of the board. Most of the men. who had-signed tte pretest a.gainst tlvi formation of a soi> si'ate union w-we woodworkers, and titer -had )ioi been asltccE to attend any meeting .in eoiroeetkm with the. .»wtt.Hr. . Th© only information they ' got \vas wiiat 'appeased in the paper after the deputation waited on tie board _at its last meeting. M a separate union ivers formed it would ultimately drift into thft same, elianncte as it was ■ in previously, and the men lie represented were absolutely against this. A separate uision i\oukl only lead to tho vjctiuiisotiou of the bush who had come- to the board's assistance. _ . , To Mr. M'FarlaHO, Mr. M"Gavm stated that the meeting which forawlated the separate union proposal was attentlfi] by sis memlwrs of .the old imioii. Tho Wen ho represented were not udvised in any a y about the moetins, Mr Fie teller said that tho deputation whWi waited on tho board at its last meeting consisted of four- Members m flip" old tiniou aiid two moffibers oi. tae new union, .

Oottins Up a Petition. Jlr 51'(.Savin said l>o was alluding to* tho meeting wjiida preceded tho deputation. Ho Btaiod tnat when to* netition asking for a separate union V»=' taken rouml for sifjnaturo - tho wordiii"- was turm;d dewn and tho men signing wore simply fold that what was proposed was the severaisoo of tho foal workers from tlie others. " Mr' Fletcher; All petitions are the sam* Most petitions a« got in tJio sanw wiv"" Not one m-iiii in a tli«usa.ii(l who si'f'ns a petition knows what it is about, ""Mr. M'Gavin said'that the petition Iml bwn signed by men who wottM not have signed if they bad known wlmt they were signins. But for tms eno liMidred additional men wenld have signed tho protest, . ' Mr. Fiotclier said that the woard wo'uW give full cousidoration to tho_ representations made. Ho lied certainly been under the impression Hiat-it was proposed to form soctbnnl unions mi-der a single esccuttve. Tbo board had become party io tho as<"e©meut with iho WoilinptUm Wliarf Labourcrs' Union and unless*'by mutual consent be did nol iiiink any other riiiion could be fornied which th-e hoard could recognise. 'The

ii"i'f'iMii(!iiti iwmim.'d in force until Dcfcmljor 18, IMC. Not Did Board's Buslnoss. Mr. C> W. Jones asked wiinfc the linrluiiir Hoard h;id to -tlo. with this. ?f «n.y B«t of man wanted l« join a nniim thry had to co'to tho Jtoj/istraiinirl tho board could neither step nor (troHiato it. Mr. .10. J. Jones snid that he did »ot ceo" wljiit t-im- JlnrljoHr Board Jifttl to d<; with it, lint since tho board hiwl iwrnvod a flftj>iiUt.ti<m from those who vn-ro moving to f«nn a bow union his nw'iiutivo had deemed it advisable, to take counter action. They would, of romsf!, also oppose the formation sir the proposed union in the ordinary way. Sir. Fletcher expressed Uμ opinion that ft public body like the Harbour Hoard should be- prepared us a matter of courtesy to renoivfl deputations from .«i.iy bedtPH of eitizfiii-s. Mi , . M'Gavin said that the men for whom hn Hfipoarfwi had !»ciS raisrepref>ented fiH-d hnd considered it mlvifiiiblo to stato tli& oilier side of the case. Tho deputation having withdrawn, X!>. FiMclser said: ".It appears to me, jjeiilloninn, that the solution of the trouble is thn-t wo can't interfere at nil. Wo aro paries to this agreement." ill , . Trevor: Let them fight it out them solvnsl Tho chairman said he must confess Hi at ho had been impressed when tho previous deputation wailed on tho. board with tho iursa of sectional unions, in vrfiich «ach class of euipi&yees wouJcl bo grouped, but he had assumed that those sections, woald all form part of eno union. At this point tlio inatteft was dropndl.