THE STRIKE ON THE VICTORIA

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2553, 30 August 1915, Page 7

THE STRIKE ON THE VICTORIA

i STEAMER TO LIE OUT IN THE STREAM MEN. .REFUSE ALL OFFERS LEGAL ACTION BY LABOUR DEPARTMENT STATEMENT BY THE COMPANY As tho firemen and sailors on board the Huddart-Parker steamer Victoria havo refused to accept the company's offer to take her from Wellington .to Sydney, it has been decided to lay tho vessel up at this port indefinitely. Mr. C. W. Jones, manager for New Zealand, has been advised by. his head office in Melbourne to take this course. All hands will be discharged, and about 1000 tons of cargo, destined l to northern East Coast ports and Sydney, will, be landed at Jervois Quay Wharf and sent forward as opportunities occur.' When the work has been completed the Victoria will probably proceed to an anchorage in the stream, and remain there tili the trouble is over. Altogether thirty-two men are concerned in the "hold-up." On Saturday a new offer was made to them. In addition to full wages, from Wellington to Sydney and back, and a free passage, £5 per man extra was refused. Notices .have been posted'in the Government shipping ofhees notifying seamen of "the vacancies on board the Victoria. If a new crew is forthcoming the vessel will be dispatched to northern ports and' Sydney as soon as convenient. : . Great Inconvenience. Gisborue shippers and the public generally have been much inconvenienced. Passengers for north'have been detained for days, and th6se who wished to go to Sydney will have .' to remain behind. Cargo which is urgently wanted at Gisborne is also held up by. the seamen's action in refusing to go in the ship. Some racehorses are also detained. Not only is the inconvenience affecting Gisborne, but it is common to New Zealand, as there will not be any weekly boat from Auckland to Sydney this week. . Therefore mails from New Zealand will not be able to connect with other steamers in Australia. The Union Company's 'Mararoa was placed on the Auckland-Sydney run, but trouble ;was experienced with her crew,'and the company was reluctantly compelled to lay her up also. Hence there is no steamer to take the Victoria's run to Sydney. It, has been suggested that the Riverina, instead of coming down the coast to Dunedin this trip, should be turned back from Auckland to Sydney. The officials of the company pointed out, however, that the Riverina had a considerable quantity of caTgo stowed in a certain manner in her .holds for southern ports this trip, and it would be practically impossible to discharge it all in time for the vessel to get away from Auckland on schedule date. 1 Then, again, southern consignees would havo ,to wait such a length of time for their transhipments, because the Victoria has been the connecting, vessel with the ttiverina at Auckland in the past. ! Labour Department Acts. . -~TTIio Labour Department has" stated that as tho men have by "combination or common understanding" discontinued their employment for the purpose of compelling the company to agree to increased rates of wages for the trip, the matter has "been referred to tho Crown Law Officers, with a view to legal proceedings being taken for striking. The definition of a strike is contained in Section 3 of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act, 1908, as follows :—"Strike means the act of any number of workers who are or have been in the employment whether of the same employer or of different employers in discontinuing that employment whether wholly or partially, or in breaknig_ their contracts of service, or in refusing or failing, after any such discontinuance,' to resume or return to their employment, the' said discontinuance, breach, refusal, or failure being due to any combination, agreement, or common "understanding, whether express or .J n pJ l 6i made or entered into by* the said workers, , with intent to compel or induce any-such employer to agree to terms of employment or comply with any demands made by the same or any other workers. , . ' THE COMPANY'S CASE. MANAGER EXPLAINS POSITION. (To the Editor.) kir,—ln your Saturday's issuo was published a statement from the secre-. tary of the Seamen's Union which'calls For some reply; and I feel less hesitation in asking for some of your space, ? s the principle at issue is one of public importance; for if a shipping company, has to meet such demands as are being made in this case, it is the public who bhi ruu have to pay the The Victoria has been run on Ausarticles merely as a matter of convenience, and not with any idea or intention of escaping anything in- the wages. The running of her purely as a coastal boat, connecting with the Riverina at Auckland,for Sydney, was in the first place experimental and was only to be tried (turin" the (summer passenger season. It is now wished to vary that running for a few trips, one reason being to avoid the expense °f. transhipping cargo in Auckli \t ~ ctona had been put oh the -New Zealand coastal articles she could not go to Sydney without a further change. She has, of course, to pay New Zealand rates when on this coast if they happen to be higher than Australian; and being on Australian articles she must pay Australian rates if they happen to be higher. In any case, therefore she pays top rates. No complaint has been made to the master or to me that anyone was being defrauded. No request was made to alter the articles until tho 7th of this month and as it was already decided that tho Victoria should run to Sydney for a few trips, I asked for the matter to bo left over for Melbourne consideration. The company aro quite willing to put a boat on New Zealand articles when sho is only intended to trade in New Zea- ™ ' ,- Wo so in case of the Westralia a year ago; but in tho case of the Victoria there was no decided intention to leave her on the coast. Most of tho present crow joined the Bl\ip in New Zealand, and they say that if they take Mer to Sydney they may bo discharged there, and left ' stranded. The offer We have made them is full wages there and back, with a guarantee of continued employment or a. passage back, and £5 each in addition. This is piactically offering double wages to Sydney and back. This the men declined, and insisted on £15 each for 20 engine-room hands and £14 each for 12 deck hands, for an oightday run to Sydney with free passage back. This totals up to Over £.300 extra monoy. Now it would he much cheaper for the company to pay than to have the boat stuck up, but if such demands are not resisted, they can only lead to a further incmce in fiwen and freight?. UVe ar« not making est;nvaguflt profit^

and tho expense of running boats is constantly increasing. I think, therefore, that wo have a right to appeal for the support of the Government-, other shipping companies and the general public, and I cannot help feeling that there is something wrong about an Arbitration Court that can tie the employer down hard and fast, hut cannot protect him from exorbitant demands of this - sort. Our Westralia. was running on the New Zealand coast early in tho year on New Zealand articles, and it cost us a similar fine of about £350 to get her back to Australia. It would therefore appear that the putting of «■ ■ boat on New Zealand articles will not protect us from similar violent attacks. _ I am willing to accept the arbitration of any independent mail, say, for 'instance, tlie President of the Arbitration Court, if lie would act, and tlie ' men would agree. Meantime the boat is idle, at great loss and publio inconvenience.—l am, etc., v C. W. JONES, N.Z. Manager Huddart-Parker, Ltd.August 28, 1915. STATEMENT BY A FIREMAN. Sir, —I have read in this morning's paper your version of the firemen and seamen's strike, re the Victoria. Now, Mr. Editor, I assume you have got your information from the Huddart-Parker Shipping Co., and naturally you liave only got one sido of the question. According to their version, you want to make the public believe that they aro asking £15 and £14 respectively for eiglit days' work. Now, I want to give you the men's side of the question. As a matter of fact, this trip takes about 23 days, and although the men are not working all tlie time, anybody knows who has led a seafaring life they cannot stay in port for nothing. Thanking von in anticipation for insertion.— I am, etc., FIREMAN.