LYTTELTON WATERSIDERS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16350, 12 February 1921, Page 9

LYTTELTON WATERSIDERS.

MEN REFUSE OVERTIME. A DISCRIMINATION POLICY. The Lyttelton waterside workers came into line with the Auckland and 'Wellington men yesterday, and refused to work overtime on thi© vessels in port. As far as can be ascertained, the action taken is an individual one. the men’s union taking no part in the proceedings- Apparently the policy is one of irritation—men will refuse, at. an hour’s notice, to work certain vessels, whilst they will continue on others. _ Shipping company officials stress the inconvenience and confusion which will result from such tactics. No previous notice was given of an intention to refuse overtime work terday. hut when warned at 4 p.ra. by the shipping companies concerned., that they were desired to work on after tea. the men immediately stated that no overtime would be worked after o p.m. Tho secretary of the TVatersiders’ Union, Air J. Flood, would makd no statement in the matter beyond the information that the action was not being taken by the union, as such. “The mm can please themselves whether they work or not,” he said.

Shipping companies will be much inconvenienced by the action of the vatersiders. “It is a policy of irritation,” said a shipping manager. “Individual action, as adopted at Auckland and Wellington. means that the men will select some vessels upon which they will not work, and will continue to work on others. The result will be a confusion of traffic— : th© Railway Department will never know what arrangements. to°make for handling cargo©*. This will resultin making the shipping congestion more acute. Until the present, a few vessels have been got away by a system of working overtime which utilised the spare trucks as they became disused. Tt has taken us all our time during the. past few weeks to struggle along in the daytime, when the demand for trucks is greatest.”

The time, for action was aptly chosen. The shortage of trucks during the pastfew weeks had made the working of overtime., generally speaking, practically out of"the question ; bur yesterday and the day before tho situation had cased somewhat. Ample trucks had been secured to enable operations to proceed noon the Scald a, the Wnicetnata, and the Somerset, at least List night. Instead, however, all work on those vessels ceased at five o’clock, and a string of trucks stood idly on the wharf beside each vessel. The men’s attitude is illustrated by the fact that the only vessel worked last night was tho Storm. This vessel’s movements are not facilitated by the working of overtime—whether the vessel sailed last night or to-night makes no. difference to her time of discharge at Dunedin, as in either case she will he unable to work her cargo there until Monday. On tfi© other hand, vessels like the Somerset urgently require to clear the port to complete their Home cargoes elsewhere. An immediate result of the “no overtime” movement is considerable inconvenience to the Christchurch Gas Company. The gasworks is in urgent need of conk of which there is a big shipment on the Trewellard, but onlv four trucks could be dispatched from Lyttelton last night-. The only shipping company which is not likely to bo affected at some time or another is tlie Union Steam Ship Company, which maintains a permanent staff of men not members of the AVatersiders’ Union. POSITION AT WELLINGTON. [Pkr Pwess Association'.] IVELLIN GTON, Februa rv 11. The position on the Wellington waterfront is still somewhat uncertain. It is impossible to say whether the union is taking concerted action ip regard to the working of overtime. So far any action of that nature has been confined, it would seem, to individuals, who keep within the agreement. Tli© work of discharging the Moan a commenced to-dav.