MORE STEWARDS STRIKE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 225, 29 December 1920, Page 5

MORE STEWARDS STRIKE.

.. -• : { Iyi.OERAKI ’S SEN£L EAVE. . NIAGARA’S SAILING CANCELLED. (By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright ■ SYDNEY, Dec 28.. lion the Moeraki arrived yesterday the stewards left" the vessel, their notices hav ing expired. The owners then decided tc cancel the January sailing of the, Niagara and.it will probably bo the ' middle ol February before any attempt is made tc despatch hof. f ;• t -- \ ■ ; The secretary. of the,'Stewards’,'Union' states that there is no. truth in thb re- : that the transport workers (babe Instructed the .stewards to return tc ’work.—(Press Association).; : • WHAT. THE STRIKERS SAY. AVEN OES 'FOR RECONCILIATION. Inter-state owners stand firm Receivcd‘Doccmber 29, 10.30 a.m. : ........... SYDNEY. Doo. 29. The recommendation of; the Transport Workers’ Federation was rejeeted by a mass meeting of stewards,‘who, now state that there are only two avenues open for recon-ciliation;-a conference with the ship owner* or the appointment of; a special tribunal. ; Thc -cdastal owners ' are meeting the Strikers’ representatives'on Tuesday. The inter-state owners Are maintaining an attitude of ho compromise, insisting on the men resuming work unconditionally oefore a conference can bo held.—(Press Association.) r ■ BOATS FOR NpW ZEALAND. MOERAKI LEAVES ; TO-MORROW, Received December 29,11,20’ a.in,. r ., ■ ■ SYDNEY, Dec. 29. Only the stewards on the Australian’ articles loft the. Moeraki. and, about a dozen on the New Zealand, articles are expected to stand by'the company. ■> ■ It is announced that the. Moeraki will sail for Wellington, to-morrow. Efforts will also be made to QdSp'atch the Manuka and Mahono as portions of:their brews aro on the New Zcalandvarticlcs. ’ As the crewa. p{, the various . vessels are paid off the I’ships, will bo-tied 'up in the stream. Apehpyxijdiis amount-,of tonnage is already idle at'Sydney,'Newcastle, and in Melbourne. It is estimated.that 40,000 tons are idle.—(Press Association). MANY THOUSANDS IDLE. ' . MELBOURNE, Doc. 28. If the stewards’ strike continues after the holidays it is estimated,that 10,000 will bo rendered (die in Melbourne.—(Press As- ,’ • PR IN^RAL; POI DISPUTE. •The principal point-’pow ViAUdispute between of the Australian interstate marineV i their Jfctppldyers apparently relates to’a deduction At stho “spread” over which it tb spread the day’s work. On UcliaTf of,the employers Sit is pointed out, according to the Melbourne Ago, that in June last an award was made bjii-the-Arbitration Court, baseff«bp a ten . hours’ dky at sea within a stretch'df fifteen hours, undpr this award the greater number-of; stewards employed on.passenger vessels-classed as first grade stewards received in actual wages £l3 10s per month. In addition to that there was “keep,” which was assessed at £3 17s 6d. On the LoonganaK the overtime payment worked out- in ; November at £4 12s. Under present conditions the wages, keep and overtime amounted to ' £2l 19s 6d per month,, irrespective of “tips” received from passengers. ■' The stewards, being dissatisfied with these conditions, approached the owners, who offered an eight-hour day, with additional payment at ordinary rates for the first two hours, and after that full overtime pay. But they could nob see:their .way to reduce (ho ■ “spread” stretch -of”15, hours.The concession offered wpuld, have reprcr sented, it .is said,-, in! the of; each steward working 10: hours a oawj'an addi- f tional £3 7s 6d per.,Spionth, bfihging the afnount of wages, keep and overtime to , £25;-7s. If the full claim of the stewards were granted,- wages;keep and),overtime would amount to £2B per month,- .auci addition there would be full overtime rates for any work done before 6.30 a.m. anti after 8 p.fn. . "rA ’ . • It is estimated bv,Me. W. Apploton, chairman of the Australian Steamship Owners Federation,’ that’ ah additional expenditure of about £90,000 . a year in running the coastal vessels would bo incurred if the claims of the stewards were conceded in full. Portion of this- added cost would be passed on to the travelling public. With similar concessions to cooks and bakers, tns additional annual expenditure would bo increased to about £120,000. _±j t• . >