WHARVES WILL BE MANNED TODAY

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 122, 18 February 1944, Page 6

WHARVES WILL BE MANNED TODAY

Action By Commission UNIONISTS EXCLUDED FROM WATERFRONT

Drastic action was taken yesterday by the Waterfront Control Commission over the hold-up of all shipping on the Wellington waterfront. ■ Equally drastic action, it is stated, will be taken today to handle the most urgent cargo. . . . Captain R. E. Price, Commissioner of Waterfront Control, stated last night that using its authority under the Waterfront Control Commission Emergency Regulations, the commission had made all arrangements for labour, to work the most urgent cargo today on both the Wellington and Auckland waterfronts. This follows the Commission s action yesterday in banning all members of the Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union from entering the wharves. The same action was taken by the' Commission at Auckland. Following their exclusion from the wharves the watersiders yesterday afternoon and last night had pickets outside the entrances io all the Wellington wharves,’ but no attempt was made by the men to stop anyone from entering or leaving the wharves. ■ TOofo _ The secretary of the V elhngton Waterside Workers’ Union, Mr. E. A. 'Napier, made the following statement yesterday. “We have an understanding with, and tne full co-operation of kindred unions that no ‘black’ cargo will be worked. _ When members of the union arrived at the wharves at 8 a.m. yesterday to hold a further stop-work meeting they were informed by the Waterfront Control Commission that if they failed to resume work by 1 p m.. the union membership caids that serve them as wharf passes would riot be recognized as', such by the police, and that they would be banned from entering the wharves. , , Work was nor resumed at 1 ockmk, there being no watersiders present at that time. The offices of the Wellington union are in one of the wharf buildings,, and during the the: officials moved to the Waterside Workers ,Sick and Benefit Society offices m I'eatherston Street.

DISPUTE REVIEWED Statement By Control Commission A statement covering the events leadin» up to the present dispute and quoting a letter addressed by the Waterfront Control Commission to the secretary of the Wellington branch of the Waterside ■Workers’ Union was issued-yesterday by rhe commission so that tile public should have a clear view of the circumstances surrounding the hold up, and the measures taken Jby the commission to deal with them. . . “In a -.period of less than three months to date,” says'the commission, “waterside ■workers have illegally stopped the whole work of the port of Wellington on three occasions, and despite prior warning by the commission that their actions were illegal have/ refused to answer correspondence or offer in any way an explanation of their conduct, In addition, since December 1 there have been several stoppages of work on ships and on the wharf in breach of the waterfront commission's o'-der governing wages and conditions of employment. This order provides for work to continue if any dispute shall arise and the matter in dispute referred to a local disputes committee, and if no settlement arrived at, then to the national disputes committee; or in the case of matters of local significance only, to the port controller for decision. The national disputes committee, if unable to settle the dispute, must refer ’ the matter to the 'Waterfront Control Commission. “This procedure has been used to settle well' over 1000 disputes since the commission was first established, but it is quite apparent from what has transpired over the past two -months that there is no intention' by the union of utilizing constitutional machinery for the settlement of disputes. . - . :

“The present hold up surrounds the employment by the Wellington Harbour Board of three men who were engaged as additional help over and above the normal number of men because the class of cargo to be handled was somewhat more arduous.. When this cargo finished with no further work for the men to perform, the harbour board asked them to transfer to other work. This was in accord with a practice of many years’ standing. The men flatly refused to do so, and'claimed that they should remain on the job even though .they were not required. They were informed by, an officer of the harbour board" that whether they remained on the job or not was entirely a matter for themselves, hut they would not be paid. They negotiated with the harbour board in connexion with this matter, but the harbour board was not prepared to pay the men unless they transferred to other work normally performed by waterside workers. “The dispute was-referred to the port controller, and the union was advised to go .through the constitutional channels. Later in the same day a telephone message was received by the assistant waterfront controller from the union to the effect that unless the' commission guaranteed that these men were to be retained on’nay, the whole ship would cease work at 3 p.m. The commission considered this was an ultimatum, and was not prepared to consider it. The men duly carried out their threat and ceased work, which involved about 140 men on an important overseas vessel. Men Ordered to Resume.

“The commission served a notice on <±he union later that day ordering the men to resume work immediately and to perimit the dispute to take a constitutional course,, failing which proceedings would be taken against the offenders. The men -who had ceased work on the previous day held a meeting or, Tuesday morning, and the commission was asked by telephone whether it would permit the three men, tie cause of the dispute, to go back on the job. was that the men could go back on the job, but payment to them would not be guaranteed, and the dispute must go through the proper channels. It was learned later that all the members of the union had gone home, and no further information was received from their officers as to their intention. Ou Wednesday morning they held a stopwork meeting, thus holding up the whole work of the port. “The commission, therefcre, in order to bring the seriousness of tie position to the members., arranged for the secretary of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union to be served with the following letter, dated February 17: — “ ‘The decision of the members of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union to cease work on all- vessels and wharves must be accepted by the Waterfront Control Commission as an indication that it is not the intention of the . Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union to carry oh cargo working in accordance with the orders of the commission, and as there may be some doubt in the minds of your members as to where such action may lead, the commission desires to make it clear that tailing a resumption of work by 1 p.m. this 17th‘ dav of February, the union membership ticket will no longer be accepted by the police as a pass entitling the bearer to enter that portion of the Wellington wharves to which a pass is required.” The statement was signed by Captain R. E. Price, for the commission.