WATERSIDERS RESUME WORK IN AUCKLAND

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 November 1949, Page 4

WATERSIDERS RESUME WORK IN AUCKLAND

AUCKLAND, Last Night (PA) More than 900 watersiders were engaged today to man idle and partly worked ships at the Auckland wharves. Union members who had been absent from the waterfront on penalty for refusing to work ships during the overtime labour replacement dispute, made up the bulk of the number, only a few non-unionists being required. As the result of a settlement of the dispute on Thursday, the port was worked normally for the first day since October 26. In spite of a heavy demand for labour, all ships were fully manned. Four ships resumed work after several days’ complete idleness. They were the motor ship Huntingdon, loading for London and Cardiff, which became idle on Monday, and the Government motor vessel Maui Pomare, the collier Kartigi and the Intercolonial freighter Kaitoke, on which work stopped on Tuesday. Most of the other ships required labour to man idle hatches. They included the liner Rangitoto. where only one of seven hatches had been worked since Monday, and the freighhter Northumberland, on which two of six hatches stopped discharging British cargo on Monday. The Rangitoto is expected to sail a t 5 p.m. tomorrow for Southampton and London. This afternoon non-unionists were engaged to replace unionists who did not accept overtime tonight. Unionists and non-union replacements worked together in the evening for the first night since the dispute began. A stop-work meeting of the Auckland branch of the Waterside Workers’ Union will be held on Monday to hear reports from national officers on the dispute. On Monday the Waterfront Industry Commission at Wellington will hear submissions from the union and employers on the subject.