Ships’ Carpenters at Auckland Refuse to Accept Overtime

Wanganui Chronicle, 24 July 1947, Page 5

Ships’ Carpenters at Auckland Refuse to Accept Overtime

(P.A.) Auckland, July 23 I A decision riot to accept overtime I until the claim for 6d an hour extra I had been met by the employers, was made to-day at a stop-work meeting of the ship carpenters' section of the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union. The urmediate effect was that carpenter;. who are not members of the carpen’ers' section but employed as casuals on the waterfront were withdrawn from ship work.' Later members of the section gave effect to the decision by refusing to accept overtime on all ships in port. Work in one hold of the New Zealand Shipping Company’s liner Rangitiki, which is loading frozen and general cargo for the United Kingdom, was halted shortly before 7 o'clock to-night, when no carpenters were available to lay dunnage. Other loading ships in port were affected to a lesser extent during the day by the shortage of carpenters.

The Port of Auckland Shipping Stevedores’ Association spokesman said to-night that he understood the principal matter in dispute was a claim for 6d an hour over the skilled carpenters’ rate of pay which had been disallowed by the emergency disputes committee, which sat under Mr. S. Ritchie on June 13 and June 24 this year. Carpenters engaged in ship work were formerly members of the New Zealand Carpenters and Joiners’ Union, said Mr. Buscke, hut as a result of an alteration to the rules of the Waterside Workers’ Union, approved by the Minister of Labour, the carpenters were permitted to join this union.