WATERSIDE LABOUR

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 27 September 1928, Page 5

WATERSIDE LABOUR

ATTEAIPT AT CONTROL NO WORK WITHOUT LICENSE; PROVISIONS OF REGULATIONS. tlln'trd Press Association —By Electric Telegiujjt Copyright.) (Australian Press Association. ) Received 11.5 a.m. to-day. CANBERRA, Sept. 27. The Federal Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. S. M. Bruce, in explaining >. the regulations under the new Transport \\ torkers Act, said that these would be administered by the marine division of the Trade and. Customs Department. which would issue licenses to all persons desiring employment at ports where volunteer labour had been engaged, and no person without a 1 license would in future obtain employment as a waterside worker. feteps had already been taken to apply the regulations to the ports of Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Fremantle, where the Beeby award was bemg flouted, but not at Sydney, Newcastle, or Albany, where the Waterside Federation men gr© observing the award. The conviction of any licensed person HK, for assault on a fellow worker would result in the cancellation of his license, '' while without a license he would be unable to obtain work on the waterfront.

UNIONISTS DECIDE TO RETURN

TRIBUTE TO VOLUNTEERS.

OPPOSITION TO REGISTER

SYDNEY, iS&pt. 26. The weekly meeting of the Watersiclers’ Federation to-day decided to work all vessels arriving at Sydney whether loaded by volunteer labour in other ports or not. The Adelaide watersiders have declared the strike ofE and have decided to .return to work under ! the Beeby award. At Hobart all members of the Watersiders ’ Federation are now working under the Beeby award. The Victoria 'State and the central committee of the oversea and interstate shipowners have decided to stand by* the volunteers now working the ships although there is yet no definite promise* that the volunteers will be given preference under the provisions of the new Transport Bill. “The shipowners realise that if the public-spirited volunteers had not answered their appeal a disastrous strike on the waterfront might have continued indefinitely, plunging tae Commonwealth into chaos 'comparable only to invasion,” says the Overseas 'Shipping Representatives’ Association. ■ ‘ ‘ls the control of oversea and interstate shipping to ’be handed back to a union which has shown itself utterly helpless?” continues the statement. “If so, it is possible to count the weeks between peace and renewed warfare. Expecting those in so-called control of waterside workers to honour any award or agreement is to credit, the impossible. One might as well ask a professional ineendiarist to turn fireman. “Volunteer labour has proved to the entire satisfaction of Australia that Judge Beeby* spoke truly* wnen he said of waterside work' that it was by no means the hardest work in the 'community and that the accepted policy of the Waterside Workers’ Federation was to spin out the job. The results achieved by willing amateurs should be an eye-opener to the general public,” concludes the statement. A combined maritime, waterside and transport unions’ conference at Melbourne in conjunction with the Australian and New Zealand Council of Trades Union has agreed -that the challenge of the Government that men must register for worK in the maritime industry should be accepted. iSpe'akcrs admitted that the whole maritime organisation must now join issue on this question, which was described as 'conscription of labour. It was also decided to tost the constitutionality* of th e Act. Meanwhile the conference agreed that the watersiders should be asked to resume at 'all ports under the Beeby award, thus Showing that (they are abiding by the decision of their own federation and enabling the whole union movement to fight the Federal Government on the registration issue. The only hope of averting a general fight on the waterfront is the negotiation at. present proceeding between the oversea shipowners and the Government. It. may result in the Government’s withdrawing: the regulations proclaimed under the Transport Act.

DECISION REVERSED.

STATE-WIDE .STRIKE ADVOCATED BRISBANE, Sept. 26. An amazing development of the f waterside dispute is 'that, a mass meet- ■ ijjrr of watersiders, whose secret •ballot yesterday had decided upon a return to work, has decided to reverse that decision and to endeavour to induce all ports, all tronsport • (unions and the watersiders ’ conference on 'Friday next officially to declare a .State-wide strike. The decision of the ballot was rejected on the ground that, some of the voting papers had been destroyed. 'No proposal was made for a further ballot, the militants having complete control of the meeting. * A meeting" of cane-growers at Mackav to-day decided to offer their services to facilitate the loading and dispatch of 'sugar-cane from Mackav. SEAMEN STILL (HOLD OUT. MELBOURNE, Bept. 26. A meeting of seamen at Melbourne to-night reiterated the decision not to man ships loaded or unloaded by free labour. The engineers have thus been compelled to 'keep steam up on several vessels. The owners are now making plans to enrol volunteer seamen.