SEAMEN’S DEMANDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 139, 2 September 1927, Page 9

SEAMEN’S DEMANDS

REJECTION IN AUSTRALIA CASE FOR SHIPOWNERS EXTRA £1,000,000 IN WAGES Dy Cable.—Press Association. —Copyright SYDNEY, Thursday. Further details of the demands of the Federated Seamen’s Union upon the inter-State shipowners for a new log are now available. The secretary of the union requested a conference. He contended that the i agreement under which the men have j been working had expired and inti- | mated that in the event of the repre- ‘ sentatives of the companies not ati tending a conference, the union would i take such steps as might be necessary to enforce the demands outlined in the suggested new log. The secretary of the Steamship Owners’ Association, Mr. Dillon, said the agreement had not expired, the stijHilated three months’ notice of its expiry not having been given. “DEMANDS EXTRAVAGANT” Mr. Dillon said he estimated that the increased cost, to the shipowners under the proposed new log would be about £1,000,000 a year. The demands were so extravagant that there was no possibility of the owners agreeing to them. An increase of more than £4 in all fixed wages was demanded, although Australian seamen’s wages were already nearly four times those paid in Germany, nearly double those of British and Norwegian seamen and nearly half as much again as American seamen receive. The reduction of hours demanded and the increased overtime pay would bring the Australian seamen’s wages up to nearly four times those paid to British seamen and to nearly twice those paid to New Zealand, said Mr. Dillon. For instance, a fireman, for merely performing his two watches of four hours, under the proposed log 1 , would receive £402 a year and, including his keep, overtime pay and other concessions, his total wage would amount to £546 a year, com- . pared with his present wage of £274. A CRUSHING BURDEN Regarding the men’s demand for a 44-hour week, Mr. Dillon said this would impose a crushing burden on the shipping industry in the shape of overtime pay. It would involve an additional expenditure of £200,000. The public should not be asked to meet the demands by paying any largely increased fares and freights, which would be the only alternative. Mr. Dillon said it would be useless to confer on the basis of the log submitted, but if the union desired a conference on the basis of the existing agreements his association would be willing to confer regarding several alterations which the association desired to be made. —A. and N.Z.