Cowboy ports to remain unregistered

THE long-awaited National Ports Council report on unregistered ports and wharves does not recommend the inclusion of all these small ports in the Dock Labour Scheme.

This decision will come as a rude shock to dockers who were told by jack jones that if they returned to work in last-year's dock strike the unregistered ports problem would be "seen The NPC, of which jones is a member, leaves untouched the unregistered sector of the docks The report, out today, shows that the five main non-scheme ports have 1,768 regular employees and 79 'casuals', while third-party undertakings employ between them 785 regular and 278 casual workers.

The report merely invites' Maurice Macmillan, the Empolyment Secretary, to consider what steps are open to him: 1 To eliminate casual engagements in those cases where it is used as a normal source of cargo handling. 2 • To ensure that the conditions and terms of employment at non-scheme undertakings should not be less favourable than the standards laid down by the national joint council for the registered ports.

Jones said lamely yesterday that 'it is highly desirable for the maintenance of peace in the industry that non-scheme ports should be brought as quickly as possible within the Dock Labour Scheme and the union will be making urgent representations to the Secretary of State for Employment'.

Dockers will treat this comment with the derision it deserves. It is what Jones has been saying for years-but equally, has been doing nothing about.

But the non-Scheme ports are to remain outside the jurisdiction of the National Dock Labour Board which by law regulates the employment of dockers.

The report admits all of the criticisms that have been made about the cowboy wharves: that they work significantly longer hours than dockers are required to do at scheme ports; that in many cases they have far lower basic pay rates and less favourable holiday, sick pay, and pension arrangements than the scheme ports.

'In respect of labour costs theretore, these non-scheme undertakings cannot tail to enjoy a cost advantage over scheme ports,' the report states.

But despite these strictures nothing is proposed to be done to stop these smaller ports creaming off the specialist traffic; from undercutting the major ports in costs through not having to supply a full range of facilities for proper training and welfare conditions for dockers; or from providing a pool of scab labour if the registered ports are ever in dispute ever pay and conditions.