COMMUNIST GIVEN TIME TO SPEAK TO WATERSIDE WORKERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 November 1949, Page 4

COMMUNIST GIVEN TIME TO SPEAK TO WATERSIDE WORKERS

Following the concession of time to Labour Party speakers, Mr M. Moohan (Petone) and Mr J. B. Kent (Westland), earlier this month, the Greymouth Waterside Workers’ Union this morning held another stop-work meeting to hear the Communist candidate for Westland, Mr R. H. Mitchell. The Communist Party had applied at the time of the Labour address for a similar privilege, which is unique in the history of the union, political addresses in the past having been delivered during the noon lunch hour. It was reported that there was a “normal” but not a full attendance at the meeting, and Mr Mitchell spoke for an hour, after which' he answered a number of questions. The meeting actually was the second and adjourned half of the general meeting held earlier this month, which lasted for the duration of the.morning because of the political addresses by Labour speakers. Business, including the discussion of remits to the national conference of the Waterside Workers’ Union, could not be completed at the first meeting, requiring another stoppage of work today. All remits to go forward to the conference at Wellington next Wednesday, December 6, were discussed and instructions issued to the national delegate, Mr A. J. Panther. A number of remits from the Greymouth branch will also go before the national conference. These, it is stated, deal largely with wages, conditions, hours of work and holidays as they affect the port of Greymouth. Today’s meeting was arranged with the employers, it was stated, and it lasted from 8 o’clock until 10.25. Work was then started on the loading of the Kaimiro, which is taking for Miramar. It is. expected, however, that the ship will be ready for sea before the compulsory stoppage of work on the waterfront at 1 o’clock tomorrow, election day.