WATERSIDERS AND MILITARY SERVICE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LII, Issue 168, 13 July 1918, Page 5

WATERSIDERS AND MILITARY SERVICE.

QUESTION OF EXPERT EMPLOYMENT. THIRTY-TWO APPEALS. The position of wateraiders in regajd to military service was discussed before the First Wellington Military Service Board 1 on Thursday, says the Post. - > Joseph G. Bruce, secretary of the Wellington Waterside W 7 orkers' Union,' represented all the appellants {32). Sworn, Mr Bruce stated that the membership of the union was considerably lower than before the war. .Shipping had decreased, - but still \ there was', shortage of labour. Taken on the whole, for the last year there hod been, nibre or less, a. shortage of i»i.our. Wellington was a. port which could not -1 be worked on the. bare number of men-re-quired. All the coal which reached Wellington depended on . the state of tin' bars at Greymouth and . Westport, and sometimes all the colliers, delayed by rough weather, reached \Vellington together. There must be a margin of labour to meet such an emergency, otherwise .ships would be delayed and tVi <5 mines stopped. Figures supplied by tho Wellington Co-operative Labour Employment Association and the: Wellington Harbour Board: ■ showed that •. tho number of men on tho wharf would average about 1320. It would be. seer.' that they were down to a very low .miia* ber. The competency and efficiency .o. men working on-the wharf was tin- important factor. Tha : watersiders.'.hnu come to the conclusion that 1 they must retain their .'competent men. All ihe single men had gone, and in their p3-.1t.-e there were men wlio knew nothing about the work. They constituted a grave danger to all workers. The- Waters;i<le Accident Commission had had; a wonderful effect in improving the gear, but •▼en then there wore 29 'accidents during -Tune; —nioro than one accident on each working day. Witness w&S riot'uppealing for • any * particular persons, '.nit for competent and efficient waW-r/iU'levp as a whole. This year -i75 ne\V"- b.ruds joined the union. In 1612' the • n cow r of> new members was. over 800, and the total .membership that-year' was IT'-O. . The 'Cliairman stated that the i oavd wanted to. kno\y -whether the "work 'lone by each,, a-ppellant . was' skilled or otherwise.. ■ ■:> . ■.

:Mr Bruce : Every man mentioned here to-day is. ;a skilled man* , Mr Perry: Do you intend to ;;ppen) for every man . drawn in the , ballot ?-r Yes. . - •- •Mr M'Laren stated that the boa; d had laid down the ..principle, that -if a man became a watersider after Ist August. 1916, his appeal must be considered separately, and 1 each of those cases treated oh its own merits. Further, the, board must be perfectly satisfied - that cich ap,pellant is a skilled' worker and actually employed at skilled work*all the time.^.. Mr Bruce: But what is .the. boards definition of skilled work? I say thatall waterside labour is skilled In oour. William H. G. Bennett,' manngpr of the' Wellington Co-operative Wutersid--OTB' Employment Association, • said ho was well acquainted with icdnditfniis on the wharf. The : association, started! in August, 1914, and the average number of men employed,, for the first year was 1044. In the year ending August, 1916. the number was 1066. The" next v-year ifc was 1045, and so far this year -the -average, was .1005. . Only > 60(7 "men feYtli ployed, in February this year werevon the books in February, 1915. As to tlia balance: a large- number had enlistpfii [ many; others were called up by. .Kallbt, and the others liad. "drifted ofi. ; ' •wharf had been practically of single men. There would be im dim ' -culty in -securing the. information as to iskilled labour as. suggested by. Air Mc- • Laren. ; • In-, answer to OaptSin .Walker (mill >tary representative), /Bruce 4«£pd that some of the men appealed for wep» ! 'in ;, :Class A (no children), but .the majority were Class B ■ (one child)., • Captain; Walker _ suggested! ...that- the appeals' could;: -bet' heard in sijcition}',. Perhaps the board would deckle; the position of Class A men first, then Class B, and so on. The board might > decide to send all Class: A men into, camp,- with the exception of experts and those-.'-ap-pealing on the ground of personal hardship. '' '' ' Air Bruce: We claim that there should' be no distinctly; that we have reached the stage wheal' no more men can be glared. '■ VVe come here and. to you for our ow> safety. ; In'answer to Mr Perry, Mr Bennett stated, that the employers were not. appealing.. ; 'v . ./ 'Mr Perrv: If we decided to dismiss thei appeals because the. employers were not asking for the. exemption of the men, > what would, the .employers sviy L . .Mr Bennett: Well, afte'r a time we • would have to appeal. The hearing- of the case's was i avther adjourned :t<> enable the union to supply further particulars reference tit each applicant , • \ Archibald H. Munro, chief wl«J: i" " for the : Wellington , Harbour .£Uw» unagreed to give statisticial information in regard to men employed by .the Harbour ■Board. • • ' ' ■