Waterfront Disputes Cause Loss Of 221,038 Man-Hrs. In Year

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1948, Page 8

Waterfront Disputes Cause Loss Of 221,038 Man-Hrs. In Year

WELLINGTON, Wed. (Sp.).—During the year ended March 31, 1948, a total of 221,038 man-hours were lost throughout the Dominion as a result of disputes on the waterfront. Of this total 212,780 man-hours were lost at Auckland. This is stated in the annual report of the Waterfront Industry Commission which was tabled in the House of Representatives yesterday. _ The report records a decline in the rate of loading overseas vessels at Auckland. The average wages per man worked at th e main and secondary ports was £lO/16/6 against £9/13/5 in the preceding year.

The report is signed by Judge Dalglish (chairman), Mr J. O. Johnson and Captains G. L. Almond and H. A. Anderson. Overseas vessels which discharged and loaded spent an average of 56 days ,on the coast for the year 1947-48, compared with an average of 52 days for the year 1946-47 and 42 days in 1939, states the report. Vessels which loaded only spent an average of 23 days on the coast in 1947-48, against 26 days in 1946-47 and 27 days in 1939. The all-ports average rate of work for the loading of overseas vessels was maintained ’during the year, but there was a drop in the rate of loading ovei - seas vessels at Auckland. The rate of loading butter at the port fell from 780 boxes per gang per hour in 1946-47 to 742 boxes for 194748, while the rate of loading mutton and lamb fell from 768 carcases to 729 carcases. COULD BE IMPROVED The all-ports average rate of discharging overseas vessels increased slightly from 12.15 tons per gang per hour in 1946-47 to 12.53 tons for 1947This rate could not be considered to be satisfactory and there was plenty of room for improvement. The low rate of discharge was not, however, entirely due to the men, other factors being involved, such as

congestion of wharf and railway goods yheds and the multiplicity of marks. The all-ports average rate of handling coastwise cargo for the year was 13.6 tons for the Union Steam Ship Company’s vessels and 15.94 tons for other coastal vessels, compared with 13.54 tons and 16 tons respectively for

trol from 1941 to 1948 was 0.95 per cent compared with 0.80 per cent for the four years before the commission control. AVERAGE WAGES The average wages per man worked at the main and .secondary ports of New Zealand for the year ended March 31 was £lO/16/6, against £9/13/5 for the preceding year, according to the report. The increase of £l/3/1 could be attributed mainly to the increase in the basic rate of pay, to the additional time worked per week and the payment of the guaranteed daily minimum of two hours. The total amount of earnings of union waterside workers for all main and secondary ports was £2,894,926, against £2,346,497 for 1947-48, an increase o f£ 584,429. The average wages for unionists per man week earned at some ports were as follows.—

the previous year. “There has been a falling off in the rate of handling coastwise cargo at Auckland during the last three years and at Wellington last year,” the report continues. “The rate at Auckland compared unfavourably with the rates _of work on Union Steam Ship Company vessels at the other main ports.” MAIN PORTS

A comparison is given in the following table of the rates per net gang hour at the four main ports: Auck. Wgtn Ly’ton D’edin Tons Tons Tons Tons 1944- .. 12.45 15.91 14.G9 14.75 1945- .. 11.29 15.86 15.02 13.84 1946- .. 11.06 15.74 14.50 13.30 1947- .. 10.83 14.29 14.31 14.75

£ s cl Auckland 10 13 7 Wellington U 9 6 Lyttelton .. A U 7 11 Dunedin , HW l Napier 10 0 New Plymouth H 0 4 Bluff U 0 9 . The average total earnings, including profit distribution, lor the year of the 100 highest unionists in Auckland was £613/6/5. HOURS OF WORK

The report states that the variation in the rates of work at each port was due not only to the men employed but also to the facilities available at the port and the method of handling. It was gratifying to record a marked improvement in the rate of handling coastwise cargo at Dunedin. The commission’s figures were calculated according to the times when loading or unloading was actually proceeding, and the times occupied in removing or replacing hatches, in shunting, and weather or other delays were not taken into account. Unfortunately in Auckland and Wellington, and to a lesser extent in Lyttleton, there appeared to be a pendency for the times so occupied tb increase, with the result that the amount of work done per paid hour was less in proportion to the work done per net hour than was formerly the case. SPELLING During the year the port committees at Wellington and Lyttleton reached an agreements whereby workers were allowed to relieve one another for a reasonable rest period in each fourhour period during the morning and afternoon.

The average hours of work per man-week for all main and secondary ports was 45i \(33| ordinary time and 12 overtime). This compared with 42:,' hours (33:1 hours’ ordinary time and 9i overtime) in the previous year. The total value of contracts under the cooperative contracting system during the year increased by £464,508 over the preceding year, and the tonnage handled was 743,980 tons greater.

This agreement had resulted in anirr.provement at these two ports. No agreement had been reached at Auckland and the practice of spelling was still unsatisfactory at the port. For the year ended March 31, 1948, the percentage of man-hours lost through disputes involving stoppage of work was 1.78 per cent, against 2.64 percent for the preceding year. The average percentage of' man-hours lost during the period of commission con-

Results of the incentive payments scheme for the discharge of bulk phosphate which the commission had introduced at Auckland, New Plymouth, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers and Dunedin had -proved very satisfactory. COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS

An amount of £275,251 was distributed under the cooperative contract stevedoring system during the year at a winch-timc rate of 10.9 d an hour, as against £205,328 in 1947, at a rate of 10.65 d.

The overloading of port facilities, particularly at Auckland, as a result of the large increase in cargo handled at New Zealand ports, is emphasised in the report. A total of 8.412,000 tons of cargo was handled, compared with 7,683.000 in 1946, and 8,165,000 tons in 3938.