MAUI POMARE DISPUTE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 638, 15 April 1929, Page 1

MAUI POMARE DISPUTE

Scheme for Police as Stewards Abandoned After Lengthy Debate

IS A CCOMMODA TION SA TISFA CTOR Y ?

AFTER a debate lasting the whole of this morning, during which A.B.'s and engineroom hand.-- waited in impatient idleness, the staffing problem of the Government steamer Maui Pomare was solved. In the face of a firm stand by union officials, the authorities agreed to abandon a scheme by which they would have secured the services of policemen as stewards.

The Maui Pomare is due to leave for Niue Island at 5 p.m. today. If the settlement reached at mid-day is carried into effect, 14 white men will sail as deck hands, engine-room hands, and stewards, instead of nine—the number previously decided upon. The Cook Islands Department mapped out last week a scheme by which the vessel would depart with a skeleton staff of stewards. The full numbers were to be made up with volunteer stewards from the party of 17 New Zealand police constables who are embarking to-day for Samoa. Previously, the authorities had agreed to bring the ship under the provisions of the Cooks’ and Stewards’ Award, and as, therefore, the constables engaged in the volunteer work would have been paid full wages, it Is difficult to see how the department proposed to gain. AMATEUR STEWARDS Moreover, the services of the amateur stewards would have been lost when they disembarked at Apia. In explanation of this it is said in one quarter that the authorities sought to utilise the services of constables returning from Samoa to New Zealand, in the same fashion, Another explanation is that it was planned to take on a fresh staff of coloured stewards in the Islands. But the official plans were set at naught this morning when union representatives demanded that a proper staff of white stewards be engaged in Auckland. It Is understood that one of the reasons for this attitude was that the Cooks’ and Stewards’ Union has a number of unemployed men on its Auckland books.

The debate between the Government and union representatives began in the ship’s saloon at about 9 a.m. today. After two and a-half hours, during which the work of the ship was at a standstill, and the chief steward was without a staff to assist him in preparing accommodation for the full list of passengers, the officials were obliged to refer to Wellington. A trunk call was put through from the Maui Pomare to the headquarters of the Cook Islands Department, and at noon representatives were authorised to comply with the union demands. TIME LOST If this had not been done, the sailing of the vessel would have been delayed once more. As it is, valuable time has been lost, and the men who sign on this afternoon must work hard to put the Maui Pomare in seagoing trim, and prepare properly for the reception of the passengers. This latest phase of the Maui Pomare’s much-advertised trip began last week, when trade requirements and the need to transport the party of 17 policemen to Samoa made it necessary to sail without waiting for the discharge of the influenza patients from “Cintra.” It was decided officially to replace the sick men with nine deck and engineroom hands, and to make arrangements for the patients to be repatriated after their complete recovery. Two of the white officers were discharged from “Cintra” last evening, and it was decided that about 15 Islanders would be released from the emergency hospital to-day or tomorrow. This will leave less than a dozen patients, one of whom is still seriously ill. OBJECTION LODGED

On Saturday it was reported that nine white men had been engaged to bring the Maui Pomare’s crew up to full strength, and that they would be signed on to begin work the first thing this morning. About a dozen men, together with union officials, appeared on the ship this morning, but when they learned of the scheme to

staff the Maui Pomare with a skeleton crew of regular stewards, and to draw volunteers from the police contingent. an objection Mas lodged immediately. Then began the long debate in the stateroom, the representatives taking part being closeted there until tM-elve o'clock, when luncheon was served. The men, Mho had naited all morning for the M-ord to sign on, were instructed to return at 1 p.nt., and M-ere informed that the dispute had been settled.

After the officials had agreed to engage white union stewards, the question of the number required to bring the staff to its proper strength was raised. This caused a further delay, and eventually it was agreed that five should be engaged.

“I cannot understand Mhy the department caused all this trouble and aIIOM-ed such a delay to take place.” said one disaffectedofficial. "This ship is carrying a full list of passeSfedrs, yet the services of these volunteers were to be secured. Nothing was to be gained by the scheme, for the police were to be paid full stewards’ Mages. Members of the police party had agreed to act provided they were paid.” While they Mere awaiting the offl. cial decision, the would-be of the crew spent some time examining their future quarters. Union officials also made a tour of inspection, and it is known that the question of the suitability of the accommodation has also been debated with the Govy ernmeut representatives. STRANGE ANALOGY Despite the fact that & special Government inquiry by the Marine Department inspectors resulted in the accommodation being passed os up t o Board of Trade requirements, it is understood the department has pro. mised the unions that certain alterations will be made. In support of this significant news it is pointed out that although the crew's accommodation space in cubic feet measures up to regulation requirements, much of the actual space in the forecastle is taken up by the flare of the ship’s bows. Moreover it is said that every other ship trading on the New Zealand coast has considerably more than the regulation space in the crew's quarters. One of the principal objections to the Maui Pomare's forecastle accommodation is that fresh air is supplied by only one ventilator with a funnelmouth of less than 2ft in diameter. This supplies air not to the sleeping or mess apartments, but to a narrowpassage between the two cabins. While at sea the cabin portholes are kept closed, and it is said that one solitary ventilator is quite inadcquate to clear the foul and heated air from the compartment, especially when the vessel is in tropical waters. Other objections are that a great deal of space has %een wasted by tbo building of unsuitable partitions, that the bathing facilities are inadequate, that the messroom space is insufficient, and that the presence in the bows of a storeroom for paint and other gear makes it necessary for its contents to be carried to and fra through the forecastle. NOT SATISFACTORY

It is stated freely on the ship that, despite the official report, general conditions for the men are not at all satisfactory, and, in the opinion of the men, the alterations such as have been promised will but make the best of an unsuitable state of affairs. In the opinion of Mr. W. Wallace, chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board, the original inquiry held concerning the state of the Maui Pomare should have consisted of independent people, not Government officials.

When Mr. Wallace sent a request to the Prime Minister for an independent inquiry Sir Joseph Ward telegraphed that he had had inquiries made and the report he had received stated that the accommodation provided complied M*ith the Board of Trade regulations. "If, from what I have heard, the conditions on the Maui Pomare comply with the Board of Trade regulations then it is time those regulations M-ere improved,” said Mr. Wallace this morning. He also stated that In his opinion the man M-ho should have been asked to make the report should have been the district officer of health at Auckland. •