MARINE OFFICERS' DISPUTE.

Evening Star, Issue 14687, 3 October 1911, Page 1

MARINE OFFICERS' DISPUTE.

Till- AUCKLAXP .-OASTAL TLY.Z!. [Special to the Stah.] AUCKLAND. October 2. Th P jtriU<JshiT ; «"..-ffierr S i.iV:o!lin R t / >n <ird the hanging up of «"c Wellington co/iiUi! licet ha.- the kecn>mC uneven in shipping cnv\r? w Au.-k----brd and thßvo is :i J'.ond deal of .'jwubikm a-; to what •■!i:iv happen here in fne «e of tin' rwxt few days. One o! the--1 cst-known officers in the- Auckland coarial ,!cet was interviewed and ;;-ked whether he- thought there w;>,; a oi_ :l : trite here, in sympathy with tlw VvrllMiiiton officers. 'He t-si-rl k was 'mp r ;' ! ' : - • ■il-.lrt it. mv what would happen. A claim fee rn award ino; the Anckkmd coaxal service ha<k been filed under the \rbitr..tion Art. and war* to have come bcfoie the Court riming the present eilling, but Fhijr,' oilier* all throurrh the J>'nikion were :■■:) disgusted with the Arhit vat ion ("out: award in Wellington that he believed the in Auckland would <-«>k to withdraw their claim for .in award here; in tact, lie knew that, that course had been adrked hy Capfjin Watson iec--rrtary of the Merchant Service Guild). Ft , v:i s.' | ie declared, absolutely beyond hi-i comprehension as t<» how tha Court could have declarer! that it «•;« a fair tiling for officers to work 20 hours out of the 24. Here in Auckland officers in the coastal fleets wore now working 30 hours out of 48. and they wanted lew tlwn that, hut evidently the Arbitration Court thought they .should work mora. Further than that, feeling had keen running very high for -.joine time amongst the ollicem of on* line of coastal sfeanior.s Vreavse of the 'action of the. company in appointing an outsider to one of the. be?t pohts in the .service. A meeting of officers had been called to consider the desirability of taking drastic action in the matter, but unaniniitv ;is to thn t<:ti.rsc to lie followed had net/prevailed. The demands ?.r> oft forward in the claim for an award provide f or an eight-hour work-day, a riuo in pay, and overtime. At a meeting of the. Auckland Seamen':; Union on Saturday evening it was decided to apply for the cancellation of their certificate'of re.-d.n:nt:on. There were, it is stated, only from 16 to 20 members present at the meeting out cf the total of fiom 500 to 600 finanei. 1 member,; who comprisethe union. The secretary (Mr Munro) left for Wellington latt night, where he is to meet the general secretary, and it wonld appear that the Dunedin and Auckland Unions are working in sympathy with the officers in Wellington. The Auckland Union's agreement with the shipowners expired 12 .months ago last March, and apparently no fresh terms cf agreement have been submitted. Unless the coaetal shipping trouble is settled within two or three days it is probable that the whole of the Anchor fleet will be laid up. The company have arranged for the completion of several trips, but all the vessels, on their return to Nelison, will ba laid up pending a settlement. It is ntmorcd that the Union Company's officers may strike in sympathy with thug© on the small vessels, although they are not affected by the Arbitration Court 'award.