SEAMEN'S AWARD

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 90, 13 October 1922, Page 8

SEAMEN'S AWARD

ISSUED THIS AFTERNOON

RATES FIXED TILL MAY.

The Arbitration Court issued its new award in thie seamen's dispute.this afternoon. The Court said that nearly all the clauses of the award were in dispute. The working 1, conditions provided by the agreement of 1920 were' in many cases productive of results that could not have been seriously contemplated at the time i 6 was framed. The Court was satisfied that the abnormally high earnings of seamen in certain trades were due to the operation of these conditions rather than to- the rates of wages and overtime fixed by the agreement.. The Court had redrafted most of the conditions on what appeaiv ed to be reasonable and fair lines.

■ The question of wages had caused the ■Court some difficulty. The 1920 agreement contained a, provision that any increases awarded in Australia should automatically apply to the rates fixed by the New Zealand agreement. . The Court decided to ignore the Australian rates and cost-of-living variations, because the method of computing and adjusting the cost of living conducted in the. Commonwealth differed from ours, and the cost of living in New Zealand did not vary in constant ratio with, the cost of living in Australia,. Further, the Court's attitude was to provide a scale of wages for New, Zealand seamen whose families lived in New Zealand and not in Australia. The rates of wages decided on by the Cpurt were based on the rates agreed upon in 1920, subject to the 'Court's bonus additions - and reductions ordered since the date of that agreement, with an alternative calculation based on the Court's basic wage, less a sum of 10s per week representing the saving in domestic expenditure for a married man who, having his rations provided on board, would give the same result, with^ in a few pence. The Court considered the pre-war rates too low in comparison with those paid for shore workers, in basing any calculation on them, as requested by the employers. Australian rates were at 'present higher by £1 5s 3d per month than those awarded by the Court, but were subject to revision on Ist November, Ist February, and Ist May, whereas the rates fixed by the new award would not be subject to variation until Ist May next.

The Court agreed, owing to the unusual position of seamen and ships, to reinsert the clause in regard to stop-work meetings.