The Wanagnui Chronicle. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1937. WHARF LABOUR INEFFICIENCY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 279, 24 November 1937, Page 6

The Wanagnui Chronicle. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1937. WHARF LABOUR INEFFICIENCY

’T’HE complaint registered by Mr. C. M. Turrell against the poor work done by the watersiders in the Dominion poits brings to notice a matter of public importance. The men engaged on the xvharves of the Dominion to-day enjoy monopoly conditions, and it wolf’d appear that the worst features of monopoly are being developed by them. Not only is the right of men to join the Waterside Workers’ Unions restricted, but the right to turn away a man from a job on which he is already employed is asserted when a member of the trades unioifcclaims the job in question. This is a restriction of the right of the non-unionist to earn his living by selling his labour save with the consent of the trade unionists. As such, it is unhealthy, to say the least. Such monopoly could be tolerated when it is to be shown that by providing a certain labour force with a fair run of work a standard of efficiency is reached xvhich would not otherwise be attainable, but even under such conditions the monopoly could not be wholly and satisfactorily defended. When, however, it is reported by Mr. Turrell that “costs against shipowners had increased in an extraordinary manner and as far as the New Zealand trade was concerned, practically no new ships were being built other than those xvhieh had been ordered prior to these rises,” it becomes not a shipping company matter but one for the Dominion as a xvhole to be concerned in. The public is entitled to expect from the shipping companies improved shipping as such improvements become possible, but when “one of the worst features of the situation for owners in the New Zealand trade, was the poor work which was by the watersiders in the Dominion,” is advanced as one of the chief reasons for excessive costs which shipping is now called upon to bear, and which is responsible for the retardation of progress, then the position must .soon be faced in the public interests. Against the assertions of Mr. Turrell must be placed, naturally, the standpoint of the men concerned, and the watersiders would be. wise to place their case before the public provided it is a good one. It is asserted locally, for instance, that the handling of cargo is efficient in Wanganui as compared with Auckland, where facilities for handling cargoes are greater. Mr. Turrell himself declares that the “New Zealand watersider can do just as good work as anyone, and he used to do so. If this is true, what has caused the change? The cost of living is mounting in New Zealand, and if what Mr. Turrell asserts is well founded, then one factor of importance must be the cost of inefficiency at some of the ports of New Zealand. Assuming it to be true that deliberate inefficiency is practised by certain of the watersiders to the detriment of the public good, then it is inappropriate for the shipping companies to be left to fight for reasonable service on the wharf. The Government should take a hand to protect the public.