TROUBLE WITH FIREMEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 25

TROUBLE WITH FIREMEN.

MEN'S ACTION CONTRARY TO AGREEMENT. WELLINGTON, January 16. The Blackball Company's steamer Ngatoro has been held up similarly to the Maori, the firemen asking 30s per day, which the owners regard as exorbitant. Some men who were to have joined failed to put in an appearance. The Ngatoro is to bring coal from Greymouth to bunker the liner Kent, now loaded here for London. The delay is an expensive matter for the Kent. A ciroular to the members of the Wellington District Marine Engineers' Institute indicates that at a recent .meeting the "very unsatisfactory conduct of tin* firemen, greasers, ana trimmers was considered," the engineers' life under the conditions now prevailing becoming unbearable. The following resolution was adopted : —'' Engineers to be instructed not to proceed to sea unless two watches of firemen, greasers, and trimmers are capable of duty, and satisfactory arrangements made that the men of the two capable watches do the work of the incapable men." This decision is expected to lead to. interesting developments. When firemen are receiving higher wages than many of the engineers, the latter cannot be expected to continue to carry out the part of the firemen's job much longer. Every effort is being made to secure a regular stokehold complement to replace the "runners." Mr Young, secretary of the Seamen's Union, stated that the shortage of firemen was not so acute as was formerly the case. The action of the runners in demanding rates considerably above those fixed by the agreement is not endorsed by the union. He describes the runners as selfish individuals. Any member of the union slicking up the boats for terms and conditions beyond those in the agreement is liable to be dealt with by the union. {From Ouh Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, January 16. The secretary of the Seamen's Union says that the trouble in getting men for the Maori is due, in the first place, to the bad accommodation in the ship, and secondly, to the fact that firing is a hard job in the Maori. For these reasons it has been difficult for five years to get men for this ship. This statement by Mr Young does not explain why it has been difficult to get men for other ships. There are men in other ships receiving as much as £3 per day. An engineer, referring to the trouble and the ca'ise of it to-day, said that he be Heved that if the men at the work were New Zealanders with homes here, and with some interests, there . would not be half the difficulties now encountered. Most of the men are firemen from overesa boats who have come out here at some time and stayed here, and some of them are foreigners. The engineer did not say it, but the reason why it is not possible to get New Zealanders to do the work is that they must go in and serve what amounts to an apprenticeship as trimmers before they can be firemen, and this, -for reasons which are quite good, they will not do. If the job could be offered without this apprenticeship many men now ashore would take the work a-nd the pay. The clause in the late Mr Millar's Act which provides for this apprenticeship makes the Firemen's Union practically a close corporation. The Government has power in an emergency to suspend the operation of the clause, and the union fears thie power of the Government. If the Government were to threaten now to suspend the clause much of the trouble on the coast would cease. STRIKE OR NO STRIKE? SEAMEN NOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. On the 1665 a Daily Times reporter askeMr Olarke, secretary of the Dunedin Branch of Ihe Seamen's Union, if there was any foundation for the report from Wellington that there was likely to be trouble amongst the seamen on the New Zealand coast. Mr Clarke gave it as his emphatic opinion that a strike was the last "hing the New Zealand Seamen's Union Executive and the great body of men themselves wanted. He also said that if there was a strike impending amongst the men the executive of the New Zealand Union had absolutely no knowledge of it. That there were 11 firemen short on the Maori would not appear to indicate industrial unrest amongst the seamen and firemen generally, as some 32 firemen were required to work the Maori. The fact that men could have been obtained to take the place of the missing 11 if the company had been prepared to pay £2 per day could not be taken to prove that the Seamen's Union was endeavouring to throw on one side the agreement signed between the companies and the men last October. The men who asked for ife £2 are assumed to be what are termed "runners." These "runners" are waterside workers, and not men who ordinarily make a living by going to sea. Their services are requisitioned when seamen or firemen cannot be obtained, and they do not come under the control of the Seamen's Union —that is, they cannot be compelled to become union members till they have been seven days at sea. It should not be forgotten, of course, that some of the waterside workers are also members of the Seamen's Union, and take spell about at going to sea and working on snore. Mr Clarke repeated that the general body of* seamen and firemen do not want a strike, and they maintain that they cannot be he'ld responsible if one of their number, or any body of them, refuse to go to sea. They also assert that too much importance is attached in the newspapers to industrial troubles amongst the seamen which should not be considered to be of more or less local significance. The responsible men in the union are also not oblivious of the fact that the Union Steam Ship Company is now but a unit, and a small unit, in a vast shipping concern—the P. and O. Company. If it camo to a strike it might not greatly concern the big combine, though it would cause great inconvenience to the general public of New Zealand. The P. and O. Company might simply order the Union Steam Ship Company's steamers to tie up to the wharves, but' this procedure would not have the slightest effect in the working of the company's vessels in other parts all over the world. Thinking men in the Seamen's Union realise that now they would have to fight not merely the Unlpn Steam Ship Company, but the P. and O. Company.

Moreover, they say they have nothing to complain of regarding their present work* ing conditions and wages, and that they know who will win if some of the inpre irreconcilable and irresponsible members of the union do unfortunately happen to bring on a strike. Further inquiry elioited the fact that under the agreement come to with the em. ployers last October the. men are be paid 30s per month more than the men on the Australian coast. Whether the wages of the Australian men have since been raised could not be ascertained. MAORI LEAVES WELLINGTON. (FaOM Ona Own COBBKBPOWDXKT) • WELLINGTON, January 20. Only at the last moment was a crew found for the Maori to-night, ana the ship will not make good 1 timo on the voyaged because she will be under two-thirds steam owing to having less than the complement of firemen. Some of the boilers were cut out. The shipping people do "hot believe that there is any real shortage of firemen in this or any other New Zealand port. It is said that there are enough men to man all the ships at tho agreement rates of pay, but that while these extra rates are to be obtained at all, the men who seek to get them, make tilings; unhappy for who ship in the ordinary way. There is probably not much in this point, but it is & fact that the men are unsettled and in a mood for mischief. They do fairly well while they are at work, and they can afford to do without work, at least for a short space The Maori was late in arriving at Lyttelton on Saturday, coming under slow steam on account of being three firemen short. She sailed on Saturday night for Wellington with over 600 passengers on board, arriving at the northern port at 9.15 a_m. on Sunday. The Mararoa has been held up at Lytteli ton since Friday last, but it was anticipated on Monday that a full crew would b» engaged and the vessel despatched for Wei. lington that night. .