WATERSIDE WORKERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16019, 10 September 1915, Page 5

WATERSIDE WORKERS.

POSITION IN AUCKLAND. COMPLAINTS IN THE HOUSE. VIEWS OF UNION MEMBERS. A.v echo of the strike of 1913 is to be found in the charges of victimisation which were levelled against the waterside unions of Auckland and Greymouth by Mr. J. McCombs, MP. for Lyttelton, in the House of Representatives. These unions came into existence after the strike, and their members were chiefly men who had worked on the wharves during th strike. When the Auckland union was formed, one of the rules provided that all future members should be admitted by ballot, the idea being to prevent the "control of the union from reverting to the instigators of the strike. Under the rule referred to, no waterside worker who was a member of the Federation of Labour or any kindred body would be eligible for admission. It is this bar upon membership which is the cause of the trouble. In regard to the statement that hardI ship has been caused to non-union workers, members of the union state that very little hardship had been caused : much less, in fact, than in the case of unions which have the preference clause and to which admission is free to all I man of rood character. When shipping j is slack in Auckland the union members have preference, but every week, they i state, there is a rush of larger or smaller ; dimensions, And then the non-unionists i are freelv on lied upon. Moreover, once a non-unionist starts work on a ship, he is kept on till the work is finished, regardless of how many unionists are unemnloved. Members of the union say they have no desire to deprive the" nonunionists of work. The" onlv intention manifested is to prevent any of the restless element from securing the control of the union. Some of the members of the union expressed the opinion that the decision °I In " e,lln^ton Union to cease work at 10 p.m. wr»s the banning of further waterside trouble, which appeared to have been threatening or some time The workers in An-Vhnd receive 2s 3d an hour for all work done after 10 D.m., and look forward to this overtime as a substantial portion of their week's earnings the ordinary pav diirinc davforht honrs" „.'"'! ls s *™ horn-. The action of the Wellington Union, counled with the expressed dcire to hrine the Auckland and Hrevmo'ith Unions into line with the others, is recorded hv them as ominous