PACIFIC SHIPPING WAR.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 197, 20 August 1931, Page 1

PACIFIC SHIPPING WAR.

Maritime Unions Perturbed Over Position. United Press Assn.—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, August 19. The “ Sydney Sun ” says that cooperation between New Zealand and Australian maritime unions in combating any development in the Pacific to the detriment of those unions is likely as a result of the entry of the Matson liners in trans-Tasman traffic. It is likely that the New Zealand unions will send a representative to Australia to formulate a programme. Exception to the entry of the Matson shipping line and other “ highly-subsi-dised, cheap-labour lines ” into the Island and inter-colonial trade has also been taken by the Federated Seamen’s Union of New Zealand, which approached the Prime Minister last week. The deputation stated that at the present time in New Zealand waters there was no less than 70,000 tons of idle shipping which, in commission, would give employment to over 1000 seafarers. The entry of the Matson line would intensify the position. The maritime unions are as much alarmed over the merger of the Pacific branches of the Union Steam Ship Company and the Canadian-Pacific Line. Should the liners Aorangi and Niagara be placed on American articles 500 members of Australian unions might be thrown out of work and be replaced by coloured labour. Australian unions are very perturbed over events in the shipping world in the Pacific and have already approached the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr J. H. Scullin, asking him to co-operate with the Prime Minister of New Zealand with the object of taking joint action to protect the interests of Australian and New Zealand maritime workers.