WATERSIDE WORKERS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 166, 13 June 1940, Page 9

WATERSIDE WORKERS

LONG MEETING HELD. REFERENCE IN HOUSE. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, .'unc 12. When the House of Representatives met to-night Mr H. S. S. Kyle, in an urgent question to the Prime Minister, asked if the Government’s attention had been drawn to a lengthy stopwork meeting of the Wellington watei’siders to-day, and whether the Government proposed to take any action in the matter. , Hon. P. Fraser said his attention had been drawn to the position. He had been advised that the extension of the stopwork meeting was trary to the order of the commission which had substituted the suspended award and the union had been requested to make dn explanation. tlhe union had explained that, in addition to its ordinary monthly business, the order of the commission had had to be discussed and this was the reason for the longer period taken. The whole position was being investigated and would be the subject of a statement by the Minister of Labour later, if necessary. • LENGTHY DISCUSSION.

The new order issued by the AVaterfrout Control Commission was included in the business discussed at a stopwork meeting of the Wellington branch of the New Zealand Waterside Workers’ Union. Two hours (from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.) -■■re permitted for the monthly stop-Work meeting, but the time was extended by the men till a few minutes after 11.30. Engagements for working th > six overseas ships in port were, therefore, not made during the morning, work not commencing till 1 p.m. It was explained in union quarters that the men were handed copies of the new order as they entered the meeting room, aiid so had not previously had opportunity to study it. ltoutine business of the union occupied the full two hours allow'ed, and more time was, therefore taken for an analysis of the new order. It" was stated that the watersiders were “pretty sore’’ that the new order failed to make the wage increase of 2d an hour in the general rate retrospective. The men took the line that as they had been kept waiting for a new agreement, they were entitled to six months, or at the least three months, retrospective increase. It was denied that there was any dissatisfaction with the amount of the increase granted in terms of the order, nor was any suggestion made that the rate should have been 3s an hour. The men, it w r as emphasised, recognised that the 2s lOd was “the last word” that could be expected in time of war. The only dissatisfaction centred in the question of retrospective pay.