DONKEYMEN’S DISPUTE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 2 October 1925, Page 7

DONKEYMEN’S DISPUTE.

THE UNION SIDE OF THE CASE. A LESSON FROM AN ACCIDENT. tBY TELEGRAPH PRESS ASSOCIATION. AUCKLAND, Oct. 1. The dispute regarding duties of donkeymen on coatsal steamers is still unsettled, but a temporary arrangement was made to-day for engineers to do the work the donkeymen refuse to do. Accordingly the vessels detained in port on Wednesday were able to. sail to-day. According to officials of the Seamen’s Union, their action in. instructing the donkeymen not to do .certain work was brought about by a fatal accident which occurred on a steamer in Australia about 12 months ago. On that occasion a donkeyman was closing a stop valve when it burst and his head was blown off. When his widow sued the shipowners for compensation it was contended the accident was the .result of the man’s own act in doing work that he’should have left to engineers. Th'e .union contends that if similar accidents happened on a New Zealand steamer the same defence would be made by the owner. In order to safeguard the position of the men the union had been endeavouring for 12 months to obtain a statement from the Marine Department defining the limitations of the work of greasers and firemen, but without success. The engineers complain that they have now to work very long hours, and that without assistance in the engineering room there is danger of damage being done to machinery. In. very small steamers carrying only one engineer the donkeyman acted as his assistant, but now the engineer must remain on duty practically all the time the vessel is. away from port. Donkeymen. are being logged for refusing to obey orders.