STEAMER LAWBEATH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20870, 9 November 1929, Page 20

STEAMER LAWBEATH.

STILL IDLE AT PORT CHALMERS. HOLD-UP APPROACHING A CRISIS. The steamer Lawbeath arrived at Port Chalmers a fortnight ago yesterday. The waterside workers accepted employment at discharging the 4000 tons of Nauru phosphates in her holds. But they declined to start work. They also declined to give any reason for their adoption of this extraordinary attitude. They even adopted an attitude of pretending that they did not know the reason whoy they were not carrying out the work they had accepted engagement to do. A vessel cannot he expected to lie at the wharf indefinitely waiting for the men who usually do the work to discover why they are not doing it. The usual alternative is to get someone else to do it. The vessel had trouble with the crew at Lyttelton. The men were put in gaol for impeding the ship. All of them accepted an alternative of returning to the ship and resuming work except the boatswain and two or three ‘others. They elected to remain in gaol until their teidu. .of imprisonment expired. The captain put up the usual notice at Lyttelton for seamen to fill the vacancies caused by those who declined to rejoin tlm ship. Members of the Seamen’s Union would not proffer their services. In order to fulfil the charter to deliver part cargo of phosphates at Port Chalmers, non-unionist seamen were engaged at New Zealand rate of wages. The ship came on to Port Chalmers, and everything at first proceeded as usual. Railway wagons were ready to receive the phosphates for railage to Messrs Kempthorne, Prosser’s fertiliser works at Burnside. The men stood up for work as usual and were engaged by the stevedores (Messrs John Mill and Co., of Port Chalmers). But the men, instead of going down the wharf as usual to commence work, remained at the stand hear the shelter shed where laljour' for discharging ships is picked. Great secrecy was observed. The stevedores and also the captain of the steamer were unable to elicit any reason for the strange behaviour. The veil of secrecy is still maintained, but it is well understood that the ship is being held up by the officials of the Seamen’s Union and of the. Waterside Federation in Wellington. A fresh mystery is developing, and that is in regard to sane men thinking they can cause a ship to Ije at the wharf indefinitely, waiting to be discharged. It was thought that the work of discharging the Lawbeath would be commenced yesterday morning, as the vessel had then been lying idle for a fortnight. A meeting of the local Disputes Committee was held, but no action eventuated. The ship lay idle again yesterday. The vessel was chartered by the Phosphates Commission to deliver the cargo at Lyttelton and Port Chalmers. The hold-up is delaying the ship from' carrying out a further charter now awaiting fulfilment. It appears that Andrew Weir and Co. sub-chartered the steamer to the Phosphates Syndicate, and that the charter now in abeyance has been arranged by that company, but not to the Phosphates Commission, for the further carriage of fertiliser. There are several features about the hold-up, the significance of which is not clear. The dispute was evidently not referred to a special committee in Dunedin empowered to deal with such matters. Nevertheless that committee has evidently taken the matter up. The agents have not forced the position to the critical stage of making it a question of free labour. They wish if possible to avoid friction. Nevertheless there is now prevalent a feeling that the hold-up is rapidly nearing a critical stage. The waterside workers at Port Chajmera are, it is understood, prepared to work the vessel if instructions to that effect are received from. Wellington. If the union officials in Wellington are still of the opinion that the sailors in' gaol at Lyttelton have not been yet sufficiently avenged, then the deadlock will presum-, ably be maintained. But a continuation of that attitude will automatically force a resource to the alternative of free labour. The agents deprecate any inclination in that direction, but the position may get beyond their control. A state of tension has been reached. It is hoped that the unionist conclave in Wellington may permit the Port Chalmers waterside workers to start discharging the Lawbeath this morning.