WATERSIDE WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 95, 23 April 1931, Page 15

WATERSIDE WORK

QUESTION UNDER AWARD

Application was recently made to the Arbitration Court by the joiut secretaries of the National Disputes Committee for an interpretation of clause 20 of the New Zealand -Waterside Workers' award. The question for the Court was whether all the men comprising tho gangs on tho . JJangitane, who were discharged on the completion of the discharge of cargo from the vessel at Wellington, wore entitled, under clause 20 (f) of the award, to be paid for four riurs after the time they wore discharged, aa the hatches from which the cargo was discharged wero subsequently loaded with frozen produce. During the interval between the completion of discharge and the commencement of loading the holds were cooled down so as to bo fit to receive frozen cargo. The opinion of the Court, which was delivered yesterday, was as follow:— "The dispute is narrowed down to the case of a small number of men, who did not usually perform freezer work. Those nlen were not offered freezer work, but the Court, does not place any special weight on this circumstanco because it was perfectly well known than they did not usually undertake that work, and were entitled, under clause 20 (a), to refuse to undertake it. When a ship is to be discharged afid loaded as a continuous operation, the whole of the work is regarded as one 30b. In the opinion of the Court, the men in question were entitled to the payment claimed unless they wero offered and refused other work in connection with tho ship or job of a class usually performed by them, or wore transtorred in accordance with tho provisions of the award." _^__ —— ——.**-