WATERFRONT WORK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17663, 27 December 1920, Page 5

WATERFRONT WORK.

, JTHE CO-OPERATIVE SCHEME. 11 WELLINGTON BOARDS VIEW. SOME SUSPICIOUS MEMBERS. The proposed co-operative scheme between the shipowners and waterside ■workers for the handling of cargo on the wharves throughout New Zealand was dis--5 cussed last week by the Wellington Har- - hour Board, some members speaking in i favour of the project and others express- , ing suspicion and distrust. The matter > was brought up by the receipt, of letteia - iron, the Wellington Central Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Association, urging the board to convene a conference • at which the whole question of waterside labour could be considered. | The chairman I Mr. J G. Harkness) 1 pointed out that the holding of a cenfer- ; ence convened by the Wellington Harbour , Board would localise the matter to a very considerable extent and they should bea • in mind that this was a Dominion ques- ; tion. The scheme, which had been rerv J fully discussed, was one of very great j moment to those who employed labour on the wharves and also to the workers themi selves. No doubt the time had come, or j vvould very shortly corns, when they, smd i all other boards throughout the Dnmimdn. ! would express very decided opinions on | the subject. Mr. C. M. Turrell 6aid the proposed scheme would not affect the Harbour Board prejudicially. The boards would ho left to evolve their own schemes. Wellington was the only port in the Dominion at which the board both received and delivered cargo. It was thus in a j unique position. <md should bo quite | capable of evolving its own scheme. Standardisation Wanted. Mr. Cohen was at variance with ths views of the previous speaker. "lTie con ditions now prevailing. in various ports were no doubt suitable for the time at which they were inaugurated, but that day had passed long since. He thought 1 there was a want of knowledge on the | part of the public of the work which : confronted them. What was wanted was | a standardised system throughout the : country. The present policy in coniitjc j tion with the work on the waterfront un* 1 wrong, and against the best interests of the public and the workers concerned. He thought there should be a unity of control, or at any rate a unity of purpose. To that end there should first be a conference of harbour boards ; or it could be ! held contemporaneously with a conference |of chambers of commerce Trie workcis i by a spirit of cohesion and loyalty, a i readiness to sacrifice themselves for a principle, had achieved much and the object lesson so set could well be incorporated in their own household, and so terminate a phase of apathy and lethargy. The board should aim "at standardisation of policy on all wharves in the Dominion. " Hatched in Secret." _" No scheme ever aroused more suspicion in the minds of the public than has this co-operative project," Vaid Mr. J. G. Cobbe. "It was hatched in secret, and is nauseous. The promoters have shown a great deal of cunning pven in the selecl tion of a name, the Co-operative Stevedoring Asscc : ation. but a noes not get away with the fact that all secret schemes in connection with public matters'are detrimental to the public interest. At , the present time the Dominion is faced with a serious crisi*. The prices of ' butter, wool and cheese are on the de- ! cl-ne, and therefore it would be unwise to consider p. scheme ''brought forward as 1 this one. It should be" strangled nf ■ birth." In conclusion, he expressed the ' opinion that the Harbour Board should control all the lr.binr or the »~<ter f »6r' Aft»r further discussion. Mr. C. M. Turrell, a representative on the Boa id of Shipping Companies. BS&ored member* . that it was an hone.=t ->tWnpt on the p»rt of the owners, and be believed it was also an honest attempt on the nart of the men. It was all very well for member' to »ret up in the rnle of destructive critics, but he would point out that not one member had tried constnicliv 3 criticism. Everything in the scheme was for the benefit of the public. A Miseon&sptioa. The chairman said he desired 'o cor-e-t a misconception in the tn ; nds of the public that the scheme emanated and was brought into beins in Wellington on Novembers last. That was not so. Its birth natrd twelve months back. He did not doubt j that it was an honest attempt to solve a difficult problem, but even so the scheme contained considerable danger?.. It would bring into existenc- two monopolies, vested interests on the one sid». and. workers on the other. Either could hold th* public in the hollow of their hand. The men, for instance, had the power to refuse to work a certain line of ships. j were many pitfalls which might affect, directly or indirectly, every harbour board in the Dominion. They should investigate the matter dispassionately and in the interests of the peop'e they were there to serve. It was resolved: "Tbst this board recommends the Harbour Boafds' Association to convene a conference inviting re- ' presentatives of a3l harbour boards, cttam,j hers of commerce, and representatives ! from other institutions and intere&ts, with | the object of fully discussing a new policy 1 dealing with operations cm the waterfronts I of the Dominion with a view to standard - j isation of policy and its general improvej ment both as regards the interest of the I public and the workers, and that such I conference should be open to the press."