NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9639, 20 April 1917, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND SHIPPING

ENGINEERS ESSENTIAL

DECISION BY MILITARY SERVICE

BOARD

At yesterday’s sitting of the Second Wellington Appeal Board, the chairman (Mr J. IV. Poynton, S.M.) rend the decision of the board with regard to the appeals made on Wednesday by Mr . Kennedy (Wellington manager of the Union Steam Ship Company) for the exemption of certain marine engineers and officers in the employment of the company. “New Zealand” (said the chairman) “differs from other large countries of the British Empire. South Africa, Canada, and the Australian colonies are compact masses of land with internal arterial land communications, making them largely. independent of the sea.' Our Dominion is entirely different in configuration. Wo are mainly separated into two small islands, onch of which has many centres of population, whose only means of luteroourso with each other and the rest of the country for heavy traffic is by sea routes. SEA TRAFFIC VITAL. “It is obvious that to such a country as ours sea traffic is of vital importance, and anything that interferes With It must hamper the development of the community. Our laws are very strict regarding the manning of sea vessels, requiring each to be requisite number or officers, including engineers. These cannot be replaced so readily as other hands. ... , “The great majority of qualified engineers on our steamers are in the First Division, and so are liable to he called up within the nest few months From the nature of their work and the high standard of fitness required for it, there must necessarily be few rejects amongst them. To call all, or even many, of these men Ul> for service would be to brine about the almost total cassation of oiir'Rea traffic, with great resultant loss and inconvenience to the community. Wo have considered thp possibility of replacing these men by qualified men now on shore, but are satisfied this cannot bo clone. Shore engineers who hold marine certificates are engaged in freezing works, Harbour Board dredges, rope and twine works, fish trawling, workshops (as .fitters, turners, and 'other occupations of like nature), and would not bo likely to leave SUQh good, and permanent positions jar a temporary engagement at ?ea. DECISION OS’ THE BOARD“The decision of the board is that in all cases of marine engineers above the Sixth, grade, and ships’ officers above tliQ fourth grads, whether the appeals are by the employing companies or by the men themselves, the appeals will be adjourned 'sine die,’ tv.be-. reviewed again before the. First Division m exhausted, the employing companies undertaking .to at. once notify the military authorities in Wellington'when any men In such ‘grades are Paid, ofi or change their present occupation, ' ' '. , ~ “Thisldeoision will enable the board, n a crisis occurs, to reconsider' the cases if at any time it is necessary to send away as many as can be possibly spared. even ‘ if it involves a temporary cessation of some of dtir seaborne traffic. At present such a course would-not be justified, *’ WHAT ABOUT >VOLUNTEERS P Mr Kennedy said that he did not clearly understand what the board intended by the grades referred -to. The chairman; “We don’t want every greaser to call himself a, tenth or eleventh engineer and', go get out of it, We don’t want to go too low down, and the same principle applies to officers.” , , Mr Kennedy said that a fourth or fifth officer might hold a master’s certificate. and a sixth or seventh engineer might hold a second engineer’s certificate, . The chairman; Yes, and a man in the forecastle might hold a, masters certificate. . What we go 'by is the work the man is actually doing. You might give them a lift and higher pay(Daughter.) Mr Kennedy; What ajiout the r.en who wish to volunteer instead, of being balloted I” I The cha’rman: “We have no power to stoo them. The Minister might suggest to the Efficiency Board that they issue a regulation covering.that. , Our decision, however, will indicate to the men that they are riot shirkers' when working in the upper grades. That ought -.to relieve their minds.” Mr Kennedy thanked the board for the sympathetic consideration given to the matter. THE EFFECT Of THE DECISION. At the afternoon sitting of the board Mr Kennedy said that he took it chat the effect of the decision was that any apneal by a ship’s officer holding rank below a third officer or by any engineer below the fifth was likely to he d;amissed. The result of that would be that if the men of military ago from sixth engineer to eleventh and Horn fourth officers downwards were witharawu fixim the ships their places could only -be filled by taking m inexperienced men of- military age, and he could not see that - that would mend matters < hom any point of .view. Mr William Smart (superintending engineer of the U.S.S. Oo.i said that on the bigger ships even the eleventh engineer had work to do that required a man of some experience and training. On ordinary ships seven engineers were needed, as they had three watches of two engineers each, and the chief engineer did, not take a watch. The chairman said that if a man below the grades specified Was essential on' a oiiip his case could be taken separately. but the board did not wish to give a general exemption to engineers. Outside the grades stated they tnonght that there ought to be individual appeals The general effect of their decision wßch regard to men below the grade ot fifth engineer was that if they held not less than a third class cer-V-ficaiip and were actually doing engineering work they came into the same category as any engineer up. to a. fifth engineer and would be exempt, whether acting as sixth or tenth engineer. If a man did not hold a third class certiflcate, but was doing useful engineering work an individual' appeal' must be made.

In reply to, a question the chairman stated that the decision governed all shinning companies in New Zealand. A number of individual appeals n ade by Mr Kennedy were allowed bv tie board.