HOLIDAYS AT SEA

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8441, 29 May 1913, Page 11

HOLIDAYS AT SEA

POSITION OF SEAMEN’S FEDERATION. ; The agreement between steamship owners and the Seamen’s Federation in New Zealand stipulates that : certain. days have to be observed as holidays at sea, viz., Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Good ' Friday, and Easter Monday; AVhen the federation entered into this agreement it was fully apprehended that these days would be observed as holidays at sea and that any work done, not necessarily for the navigation of the ship, would be paid for as overtime.. Mr W. T. Young, in making the above statement’ to a “New Zealand Times” reporter yesterday, said that on Good Friday, 1912, the Komata was at sea fully twenty-four hours, and in this case, according to the agreement the crew was entitled to twenty-four hours off at the homo port.,, Tho ; extra day’s pay was granted the men by the company, but the men reported' to him, especially tho deck hands, that they had been,, worked the same as on an ordinary day. Representations were made to the company, and they had refused to pay them the extra wages, holding that they had the right, undei tho agreement, to work the men the same as on any other day. The matter stood until September, when a conference with the heads of the Union Steamship Co. was held at Dunedin to consider various matters. The Union Co. communicated with tho Steamship Owners’ Association of Australia, and received a reply stating that under the Federal award Good Friday and Christmas Day were observed as Sundays at sea, and all other holidays were treated the same as ordinary days. Ho (Mr Young) communicated with the general secretary of the Seamen’s Federation in AustrMia, and had been informed that all holidays at a as on tho Australian coast were observed as Sundays. Consequently it was clear that both the Union Steam Ship Co. and the steamship owners of Australia had agreed aa to the observance of Good Friday and Christmas Day, and since then these two days had been treated as Sundays at sea. The matter of the other holidays was holdover pending a decision being received from Australia, as the New Zealand agreement was identical with the Federal award. He had just received a letter from the acting-secretary of tho Commonwealth Steamship Owners’ Association stating that the association had agreed that for the future the holidays referred to in clause b of 1 the Federal award (the same holidays as in the New Zealand agreement) would be treated cs Sundays.

Mr Young added that this practically settled the matter, and stop# would now be taken to bring the decision under the notice of the Union Steamship Co.