MAHENO SAILED

New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 9258, 27 January 1916, Page 5

MAHENO SAILED

A WAIT FOR FIREMEN COMPLAINTS BY THE CREW. After being delayed in tbe stream at Wellington for 24 hours owing to a shortage of men in her stokehold the New Zealand Hospital Ship Maheno left Wellington at 5.40 last evening for Suez. uu , uio previous evening the Maheno was four firemen and five trimmers short. Mr W. T. Young, secretary of the Seamen’s Union, informed a “Times” representative that for some reason not known to the men no fewer than thirteen applicants, members of the New Zealand Union with satisfactory discharges, were turned away on Tuesday and yesterday by one of the Mahcno’a engineers. This ho affirms caused the detention of the boat. Ultimately nine men wore so leetod and signed on. Two bakers wore also wanted, and they were secured in the afternoon. There was a good deal of dissatisfaction among the crew, Mr Young stated. At Port Chalmers the men .wore required to sign on without obtaining the inclusion in the articles of the preference to unionists clause, and that relating to medical benefits. Mr Young communicated with Major Bo*, binson, of the Defence Department, and obtained the inclusion of the two desired clauses, and an instruction has been forwarded by the department to Port Chalmers that tho two clauses ■are henceforth to be contained in the articles of all hospital ships and transports. The men, however, had another complaint. They stated that some members of the crew belonged to tho Seafarers’ Union (with offices at Glasgow and Southampton), a body which is much disliked, for certain reasons, by members of tho British National Sailors’ and Firemen’s Union —the representative body of Great Britain. The New Zealand firemen have no objection to members of the latter union, but show open enmity towards members of the Seafarers’ Union. On the face of this the men of tbe Maheno s stokehold cannot'be held to ho a happy family. '