THE WATERSIDE WORKERS' DISPUTE.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 42, 22 December 1911, Page 12

THE WATERSIDE WORKERS' DISPUTE.

CONFERENCE WITH UNION

COMPANY

Sempie Interviewed.

The following appeared in the ' 'Evening Post" (Well.) of .Thursday of last week:—

The Federation of Labor Executive is at present. sitting in Wellington dealing primarily with matters of organisation and waterside workers' disputes. Mr. R. Sempie, organiser of the Federation, in speaking to a "Post" reporter to-day, said there was every prospect of the dispute between, shipowners and waterside workers at Timaru being satisfactorily settled. ''A conference is to be held at Dunedin on Tuesday/ he said, "between local representatives of tho Timaru Waterside Workers' Union, representatives of the Federation., and the Union Company. As a matter of fact, the dispute was handed oveo- to the Federation of Labor to be dealt with, and we have been in communication with the Union Company for several days past. We have agreed to a conference not only to discuss the Timaru grievances, but also those of Westport and Lyttelton, and probably the Wellington agreements. As the Union Company agreed to a conference, we recommended that the men should resume workj pending the result of the conference to be held on Tuesday. Mr. T. Armstrong, a. member of the executive of, the Federation, is in Timaru, urging the men to return to work meanwhile. We have been advised that the men have turned to. Delegates to the conference with the Union Company will bo appointed by the executive.

"We have reason to believe," Mr Semple added, "that an amicable settlement will be arrived at, not only in the case of the Timaru dispute, but also in other matters. We have been successful so far in terminating all the dispxites with which we have had to deal, and we believe that the Federation will secure a satisfactory settlement of the Timaru and other matters. I would like to point out for public information that the Federation has proved itself to be not an organisation for the creation of strife between employe and employer, but, having a full knowledge of modern industrial conditions, has actually prevented craft strikes in New Zealand during the past three years where it has taken up such disputes.

"At present we are arranging agreements between the Auckland Tramway workers and the Tramway Company; also dealing with the Auckland general laborers' demands for increased wages; also the Puponga miners' agreement and the trouble over the contracting dispute at Reefton; and, in addition, we are drawing up a new agreement covering the workers at Otira tunnel. We are replacing old agreements by new, and doing the work that has hitherto been done by the Arbitration Court, and it has been done more satisfactorily for the workers concerned.