WATERFRONT CONDITIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 March 1939, Page 5

WATERFRONT CONDITIONS

NOW A “LAUGHING-STOCK” MINISTERIAI I CRITIC ISM. [peb press association.] WELLINGTON, March 9. Conditions on the waterfront in New Zealand were discussed at a conference held at Parliament Buildings, to-day, to consider suggestions for improving the handling of cargo at ports. The conference was attended by representatives of employers and workers concerned in waterside work. Addresses were given by the Minister for Labour (Mr. Webb), who presided, the Minister for Finance (Mr. W. Nash), The Minister for Public Works (Mr. Semple) and the Minister for Housing (Mr. Armstrong).

All the Ministers referred to the Government’s concern at. the existing situation and its desire to see an improvement. Mr. Webb said that if things were to continue as they were at present, the waterfront would be held up as a laughing-stock in New Zealand, if not also in other parts of the world. Mr. Nash said that the whole economy of the Dominion had been very adversely affected by actions on the waterfront. After the ministers' addresses there was a general discussion. Though the conference finished during the afternoon. its work will be carried on by a large committee.

In an interview at the conclusion of the conference, Mr. Webb said there had been free and open discussion from all angles. The general opinion was that, something had to be (lone to improve the present situation. The general eagerness of all parties at the conference to get something worth while done was very evident. After the discussion, it had been decided to appoint a special committee representing both employers and workers, to meet again to-morrow, to formulate proposals. It was generally understood that if any far-reaching proposals were suggested, both sides would be given an opportunity to confer with their respective organisations.

At the request of the conference, Mr. Webb has consented to act as chairman of the committee.

The employers’ representatives on the committee are Messrs. Warwick Gregory, G. G. McFarlane, A. A. Sinclair, R. J. Foreman, M. P. Condon, J. H. Duncan, W. H. Bennett Parsons. Capt. R. C. Hammond, Capt. S. Holm, Captain T. H. Bowling, and Captain A. J. L. Nayler. The representatives of the workers will be the executive of the waterside workers’ organisation. The conference was not. open to the Press. The statements were issued afterwards by the Ministers. MR. WEBB’S FRANKNESS. “All kinds of assertions have been made,” said Mr. Webb, addressing the conference, “to the effect that the plant on our waterfronts is not what it could be. Several statements have been made that the stevedoring is not what it ought to be. Other statements have been made to the effect that cargo shipped from the Old Country has gpt to be unloaded in Auckland —just taking one instance —in order to unload Auckland cargo, and then reloaded in order to be discharged in Wellington; and that, must undoubtedly add to the cost.

“Then, from the point of view of labour, it has been asserted that there is not the co-ordination or co-operation we have a right to expect, that efficient handling of much of our cargo is not to be had, and that in many cases a certain number of men deliberately refuse to work and pull their weight at all. How much truth there is in all these statements I guess you men here know. But this we know—-that ; f things are to continue the way they are the waterfront will be held up as the laughing stock of New Zealand, if not also of other parts of the world.

“1 don’t want to start throwing bricks into the wheel, but I do want to say this—that a repetition of yesterday, and other things, reflects discredit upon the whole organisation of tlje waterfront; and it matters not. for a moment just who is to blame. The fact remains that a situation like that of yesterday should not in any circumstances crop up. My own opinion is that both sides are wrong in many ways, and I am hoping that this conference will enable us to get over that difficulty. “If the men are loafing, or some of them, I want to assure you on both sides of the table that they can expect nothing but 100 per cent, opposition as far as we are concerned; and if a man deliberately loafs he has no right to the protection of a union. If he gets the protection of that union, the union cannot expect, and will not get, the protection of the Government. “It has also been stated, and quite freely, that a number of our foremen are not altogether judicious in the way they meet their men. We had an instance yesterday. Many of us were here all the afternoon trying to patch up a trouble, just simply because two men had a row. I am not going into the merits of that now, but I want to suggest that a row of that kind should never hold up work. The result of that quarrel between two men meant that cargoes of apples were left on the boat and sent back to Nelson, I understand, only to come back here to-day. But the most serious feature about it was that they missed the boat they were to be loaded on. “Surely we can be bigger Jhan that. Let us meet to-day with the idea of concentrating our intelligence and our knowledge on the problem of the waterfront, and whatever that problem may be, if we approach it in a friendly and comradely way, we will overcome that problem. Whatever assistance the Government may be called upon to give you in an endeavour to bring about a. better understanding, you can rest assured that that cooperation will be forthcoming.

AGREEMENT NOT ENFORCED. “The time lost during this year worked out at about 3600 working days. You have an agreement Yhy cannot that agreement be enforced. Who is to blame? How can we overcome it? I have fought for the best part of mv life to bring about agreements and some of you men sittinground this table. I think, met 30 years ago and helped to bring about the hist national agreement on the waterfionts of this country. But then we adhered to it We never had the stoppages we have now. We had better harmony and a better spirit prevailing than w<_ Live now. Why have we reached a where we have to have 3000 and 4000 days lost a year? But one thing is certain—that no Government tealisin°- its responsibility, can sit down and see those costs and charges going nn all the time and the lack of organisation that prevails there at the present time.

"Let me say to the companies that we expect you to give of your best in the way of organisation, and on the men's side, is it too much for us to expect you to discipline your own members? If you cannot discipline them, and if the men refuse to be disciplined by their organisation, then is it too much to say that they have no right, to be on the waterfront? They should be looking for a job somewhere (dse. If (lie men think they can go on the waterfronts or on public works or any other Government building with the idea that, they can please themselves what they do and how they do it, then they have got another think coming to them.

“I want, to appeal to you to-day to have an all round free-for-all discussion for a. start, and then let us see if we cannot evolve some scheme of control on the waterfront without having to have commissions of injuiry and throwing mud at each other. Let. us forget our differences to-day, and I am confident, that if we do that we are likely to bring about a state or organisation and harmony that will mean much to the waterside workers, much to the shipping companies, and mean an enormous amount to the Government as a whole. “I am conscious of this as a result of my experience and co-operation with all the different elements of industry throughout, this country; thjit there is a better spirit, growing up. It. is up to us to cultivate that spirit, and give practical expression to it. in our everyday work. I believe that can be done.” The Minister for Finance (Mr. Nash) said he would like to say that, the Dominion was the vital factor concerned, not exclusively the waterside workers and shipping companies. “It is a Dominion factor because the whole economy of the Dominion has been very adversely affected by actions on the waterfront. Whether these are right or wrong does not concern me, because I don’t, know anything about it," Mr. Nash continued. “But. commodities avaailable for shipping to the Old Country were not. shipped, and that has made difficulties from my point of view as Minister for Finance, and particularly as Minister for Marketing in charge of the commodities that we send overseas. There is not a single hold-up on the waterfronts of this country, whether it is by shipowners or watersiders, that does not have a detrimental effect, on our economy. It is not a question of wages. It is a question that if you prevent the unloading or loading of certain commodities in the most expeditious way, it has a more harmful effect on the national economy than it does on the particular people who are interested for the moment. “The circumstances yesterday were tragic from my point of view. I want to emphasise that it is a Government matter, a national matter, and a financial matter. I will be discussing shipowners’ freight rates later on, and if you can make a decent arrangement here we might be able to make a decent arrangement later on.”

MR. SEMPLE'S VIEWS. Mr. Semple said he thought it. was quite obvious to everyone who looked round the Dominion that there was room for improvement on the waterfront. The representative of the Dunedin watersiders had stated that the men had offered to do work on a cooperative basis, but that the shipping companies had replied that they did not want to hand over their management to the union. Mr. Semple, who expressed the view that a co-operative system was a practical remedy, sajd there would be no need for the com panies to relax their management in any shape or form. “The companies could still have the right to supervise and see that every thing was done to a hard and fast agreement that could be drafted to de the job.” said the Minister. ‘‘l air satisiied you would get a greater mea sure of discipline, not imposed bj punishment, but self-imposed by the men, if you gave to them some re sponsibility and some interest in the job that you are doing. That is my ex perience. The men feel they are pari of the same business and take more interest in the business. They become a unit in industry and they realise thai the more they do the better it will bf for themselves, and in the process o: doing more for themselves they an doing more for the nation. “What is wrong with this country if that there are too many people wh( want to take more out of the nationa pool that represents the annual produc tion of the nation than they put it It cannot be done. You cannot take more out of it than is put in.” said Mr Semple, “and the volume and value o. that national pood depend upon tin efforts of everyone who toils and spins Those who do not pull their weight art taking something from that nationa pool that does not belong to them am that someone else has created. Thpi cannot go on unless everybody auto matically suffers. . “I have been talking this princip.n to workmen on my jobs all over this country,” said Mr. Semple. “One illtis tration is the Ngahauranga Gorge The earnings of those men are poolec and the men get out of that pool whal thev put in. Why cannot that princip.h apply to the waterfront? I say it is not 'impossible. I want to sa Y ly that the companies would not fortejJ the right to manage their own nusi ness. I would not be the one to ast them to. I would not forfeit my rigpi as Minister of the Crown or take the right away of the Chief Engineer tc be master of his job. He is the heat supervisor of public works activitiei in this country. We have absolute con trol There is no question in tin word about that, but the men an working on a co-operative basis, ant thev are working as they have nevei worked before, because they ieel theJ

have an interest in the job. “If I were working on the principle vou are working on on the waterfront to-day, it would cost me twice as muc to do a mile of railway or load than it does. 1 had a kick from the men about this thing. Some wanted a umge svstem. and I had some le * might ask what I did with the iello.. who would not work. Vou know what 1 .lid with him and his mates. ea with him. There is no need loi an employer to stand over the men because a good man will see that tl oil!" man comes up to Ids In vour svstem the good man goes down to the waster standard bee he says, What is the good of mj v.ork m Mr. Armstrong said it seemed that while the present system e.xmt. d spates would crop up from time to. lime He had often thought the union should be able to discipline men who were not prepared to do the fair tiling or who acted in defiance not so mucu of the shipping companies as of the union itself and their fellow worked. That class of man was likely to «reck the finest working-class organisation that was ever created. “There is a defect in the law which wants to be remedied,” said Mr. Armstrong. “I don’t think we would go very far wrong if we said we would amend the law' and get the union to expel men who openly defy their OTO organisation and their own rules and

agreement. The union should have the right to expel them.” Mr. Armstrong said that if both sides believed in payment by results, surely there should be a solution of the problem. He thought the conference would be wise to discuss that aspect, because it seemed there was not going to be a permanent solution in anj' of the proposals that had been submitted to him. MATANGI DISPUTE SETTLED. WELLINGTON, March 9. Work was resumed by waterside workers on the Anchor Company’s Nelson ferry steamer, Matangi, to-day, but because of the accumulation of cargo the ship was late in sailing. Instead of leaving Wellington for Nelson at 7.30 p.m., her usual time, she did not sail "till 10.5 p.m. The watersiders stopped work on Tuesday morning when unloading the Matangi, because of a dispute, and did not work the Arahura on Wednesday.