FERRY STEAMERS

Grey River Argus, 9 October 1941, Page 5

FERRY STEAMERS

NOT TAKING CARGO. WHARF DISPUTE FOLLOWS DAY TRIPS. P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, October 8. There is a dispute between the Railway Waterside Workers and the Railway Department regarding the working of the Inter-Island steamers, Wahffie and Rangatira, at night. It has resulted in the men retusine to work cargo, with the result that neither steamer can carry cargo pending a settlement of the trouble. Since this steamer service was altered to daylight, trips last week, the vessels have n °t carried cargo.-. A start was tp have been made on Tuesday night with the working of cargo by watersiders, employed from 10.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. The watersiders, who were engaged by the Union Company. responded, but those called for on behalf of the Railway Department, 13 in number, declined to work. For eight hours Ihe men would have been paid £2 9s and also 2s for meal money, with te’a'or coffee for “smoke-ohs.” One gang of the ship’s watersiders was employed for about an hour in loading livestock", and all were then sent home, although thev had to be paid for the minimum of eight hours. The grievance of railway watersiders is that permanent Railway hands were engaged "on the arrival of the Wahine in the discharge of mails) and luggage. The watersiders claim that this work should be done by the watersiders, as it is done when the vessels arrive, in the mornings The work takes about an hour to do. and the men would have to be na’d the minimum of three and a half hours. < To-day the men declined to accept engagement to work the Rangatira to-night. The matter is now in abeyance until the arrival, later in thA week, of the Waterfront Commission and representatives of the Railway Department, from Welling-! ton. 1