THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH,
GRAND PROMENADE
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at the
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:
MONDAY, JUNE 27,
THE C. N. C. DISPUTEN
GUILDS EXPLAIN THE OFFICERS CASE.
The following commicnleation received from the Secretary of the China Coust Officers Guild and the Secretary of the Marine Engineers Guild of China, with reference to the salary reduction dispute be tween the China Navigation Com- pany, Ltd., and its officers has beer forwarded to us for publication.
1. will be recalled that the officers have already held meetings both in Shanghai and Hongkong nt which decisions have been taken
1927.
The arbitrators should, if possible, be agreed upon by both sides as a permanent eoncilia- tlon board of three, each side to select one indifferent, that is Independent, person, and those two to select the other.
At the same time they desire cordance with the terms of the it to be made parfectly clear Agreement as soon as a date sult that this is by no means to be able to the Company and tho talion as an Indication that the Guilds could be arranged. China Navigation Company is The Company was notified-of opposed to arbitration; it means the desire of theso Guilda under only that the Company cannot dates 29th April and 3rd May 1927 hold itself bound to submit any respectively but as no definito and all questions which may answer had been received from de-possibly arise to arbitration and them agreeing to submit the dia- pute to the Adjustment Board the be bound by the result."
Guilds wero obliged, to address the Company ander date 24th May last requesting Inter alia:
"In this way the Companies will be freed from any danger of unreasonable or petty mands being frequently put forward and their employees would be assured of fair treat ment of any "substantial grievance,"
(Sgd). E. H. Fraser,
Consul-Goneral." Company's Proposals.
The following extracts, covering.
taken
to strike on June 30th unless the proposals by the Companies with Company agrees to refer the mat-regard to recognition are ter in dispute to an Adjustment or Arbitration Board or restore the salaries to their own former level.
Shanghai, June 24,
So much has appeared in the incal press in recent months, con- cerning the dispute between the China Navigation Company and its foreign floating staff (represented · by these Guilds) in regard to the of reduction. of the salarles masters and deck engineer officers by 10% as from 1st April last, that the public will be generally au fuit with the main points In view of the of the dispute, apparent imminence of "a serious rupture, however, and of the manner in which it inevitably will affect the public, we are instructed by the. Management Committees of our respective Guilds to make дв facts. known the following showing the undoubted right of the Guilds in their insistence on the matter being referred to an adjustment board and, possibly, arbitration.
from a communication received by the Guilds on 10th May, 1916, from Sir Everard Fraser:
These Guilds, ne representatives
and navigating. of the masters
was
hui.
Question of Recognition
+
:
"They (the Companies) aro prepared in reply to domand No. 1 to submit to an Adjustment Board, formed as hereinafter described with the object of eresting 1 neutral meeting ground and in case of disagree ment to arbitration as suggested by me in my identic letter of the 2nd Inst. Similarly all future questions in dispute between your Guild and themselves shall be submitted and decided in the
same way.
The Adjustment Board would be summoned at any time by either party to any dispute by communicating with the Ship- ping Vice-Consul.
and
"(Sgd). Butterfield & Swiro,” to which the China Const Ollicors Cuild replied as follows: `on January, 1918:
4th
"I am
instructed by the Management Committee to in- form you in reply to your letter of 11th December,. that this to the Guild, cannot consent breaking of the Agreement of 12th May, 1916, which establishes compulsory arbitra- tion on all future differences which cannot be adjusted by correspondence or the Adjust ment Board."
(Syd). L. D'Olivoyra,
Secretary."
A communication of identic tenor was addressed to the Company by the Marine Engineers' Guild of China on 8th January, 1918.
(a) "Its consent to submit the
dispute to the Adjustment Bourd in accordance with the terms of the Agreement of May 1916;
or, alternatively, (b) "Its decision to restore the salaries to the level pre- vailing previous to the re duction, ng well as to re-t fund to all ranks the-sulary percentage deducted, since
· 1st April 1927.”
In other words the Guilds havo. simply requested the Company to prove the justification for the re- duction through the medium of the Adjustment or Arbitration Board as the Company speci cally contracted to do when it affixed its signature to the Agree The company again wrote the ment of May 1916, or, alternative- Guilds on 26th January, 1918: ly, if the Company is not prepared
"We have submitted our letter to carry out what is the clear. to you of the 11th ultimo andintaation of the Agreement, the your reply of the 4th instant to matter may be satisfactorily ad- our legal advisers and are now justed by the reatoration of the advised that the attitude taken salaries to their former level, to
regether with refund of the pur- up by our principals and
deducted. By ferred to in our letter to you of centage already the 11th ultimo is correct. We adhering to the Agreement: "the have, therefore, only to confirm Company is safeguarded against what we have already written, abuse of the power of a Guild," namely, that any future pro-and their employees would be posals to refer to arbitration assured of fair treatment of any must be by mutual consent." (Sgd). Butterfield & Swire."
Intended to be Permanent.
As
no dispute thea existed between the Company and the Guilda, ne reply was made to this letter.
In the autumn of 1920 certain adjustments to service conditions were placed before the Company by these Guilds for .consideration, and as it looked as though a recur- rence of the disaster in 1916 was attitude imminent owing to the
14th
substantial grievance." (vide the late Sir Everard Fraser's letters- of 2nd May and 10th May 1916.). The Company's Attitude. In a lottor dated 18th May 1927, received from Messrs. John Swire and Sons, London, the Com- pany's attitude is reiterated in that it maintains, "that the lot. ters addressed by the Company to the Guilds on 11th December 1917 and 26th January 1918, also to the Guilds legal advisers under date 6th November 1920, free us legally from the Agreement and they certainly do morally."
The following is taken from letter sont to these Guilds by the local agents of the Company under date, 4th inst:-
"The Companies offer this counter proposal to demand No. 1 made by your Guild i.e. its recognition. Through the Board they Adjustment recognise that your Guild is re- presentative of the officers of their Companies and its right to represent, thom collectively, and engineer oficers on the China'
vis-a-vis themselves. At the Coast, hnd on numerous occasions, previous to the year 1916, ap-
same time they are safeguarded proached the principal Companies,
against abuse of the power of a which include the China Naviga
Guild and against such constant tion Company, for recognition as
friction as has arisen in other such, but without success and as
parts of the world." a result a 'stoppage of coastal
The proposals of the Companies, vessels occurred in May of that year. During the dispute nege- as above, being accepted by the tiations between the Company and Guilds, the acttlement Agreement the Guilds were conducted through was drafted by Sir Everard Fraser the mellium of the late Sir Everard on 12th May, 1916, in the case of adepted at that time by the Com at that time the China Officers Guild and on pany, the matter of the agreement Fraser, who
represented to St H.B.M. Consul-General in Shang-15th May in the case of the Marine had been
Engineers' Guild of China. To Everard Fraser who, in a letter :these Agreements was subscribed addressed to the China Coast On 2nd May, 1916, the following the signatures of Sir Everard Officers' Guild under date
Consul-General, October, 1920 expressed himself Messra. Butterfield
Swire, with regard thereto as follows: letter from Sir Everard Fraser, Fraser, H.E.M. was received by these Guilds:
"The Agreement which bears "The dispute between the Agents, China Navigation Co., Ltd.,
ny signature as a witness was intended, masters and officers end their and the then Secretary of each
according to my employers upon the question of Guild and in so far as the mem-
opinion and clear recollection, to recognising the Guilds, of whichbers of the Guilds were concerned, the Agreement was viewed, with
be permanent." the very great majority
In the meantime the Company members, appears to me to be so the fullest satisfaction in that it.
made certain concessions grave a misfortune at this time provided for permanent peace on hud that I feel bound to offer a posthe Coast as any subsequent dia- which were accepted by the Guilds, pute between the Companies and and therefore, as matters had been
This letter was brought to the "The Companies are loth to re- the Guilds which could not be satisfactorily dealt with by cor- cognise the Guilds because they mutually settled by correspondence respondence the necessity for the notice of a Combined Meeting of between recognition could be referred by either party Adjustment Board did not enter, these Guilds on the 6th inst, but, appréhend that would expose them to constant to the Boards as provided in the but as a result of Sir Everard as any meeting
Fraser's opinion the following the Company's representatives, Staff and the Se- demanda backed by the threat Agreement.
communication was addressed to Floating of a strike, such demands being
the Company by the Guilds legal cretaries is clearly provided possibly put forward by a few
The Clause in the Agreement re-advisers under date 5th November, for in the Agreement of 1916 and further that the Company still members who may not even be all their employees.
ferring to the Adjustment Board, 1920:
"The China Coast Omeore adheres to its attitude in repudiat- "The masters and officers de-and, it necessary, a Board of Ar-
Guild have shown us the recent ing the Agreement, vide Messrs. sire recognition
thebitration in cases of dispute be- because
the contracting parties, correspondence which has pass- John Swire's letter dated 18th May nature of their employment | tween
ed between you and them. We 1927, the letter was unanimously prevents the bulk of them being reads as follows:
have also seen the correspon-rejected by the Meeting with the at one time in Shanghai and
dence which led up to the Arbi-result that in a communication to the Company, on the 7th inst. the because they apprehend that
tration in 1916. individual complaints may pre-
Guilds advised, inter alia: judice complaints.
sible solution.
are
"At the meeting yesterday it "was evident to me that all the prekent demands of the members of the Guilds were capable of amicable adjustment and that therefore the recognition ques- tion is, in fact, the sole cause of China a lamentable blow to coast trade.
"My suggestion is that as a condition precedent to recogni- tion of the Guilds the members thereof all bind themselves to submit to arbitration any ques- tion whereon there is disagree- ment between the Companies and the Guilds or any member or members thereof and that the Companies likewise bind them- selves to submit to arbitration any such question, subject in their case to the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act as to discipline.
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Adjustment Boord.
:
"The Companies agree to recognise the Guild as follows: The Guild to write and receivé...
the Com- letters direct from panies and mattery dealt with may be referred by either party to a Board of Adjustment com- of each posed of one member fleet concerned or a permanent representative, one representa- tive, of each Company concern- ed, the Secretary of the Guild' and the British Shipping Vico- Consul (as Chairman). A atenographer to record proceed- ings of Adjustment Board if required by either side..
case the Adjustment Board fails to adjust the ques- tion, the matter to go before an Arbitration Board composed of one arbitrator appointed by each side and a third by these two.
"It is understood that the find- ing of the Adjustment Board is only binding on both sides, if unanimous; the finding, how- ever, of the Arbitration Board is binding on both parties. The members of the Adjustment Board will refer to their prin- cipals, and its aittings will be adjourned for this purpose, as often as may be required."
The foregoing clearly shows that the Agreement which the China Navigation Co., Ltd., now seeks to abrogate was, in fact, the vory them document demanded by before they would concede recogni- tion of the Guilds,
"We understand that you recognise the right of the Guild to call the Adjustment Board into operation to decide the present dispute. between them and yourselves, although the correspondence which passed prior to that Arbitration clearly discloses to our minds that the expressed intention of all parties at the time
the inauguration of a tribunal of a permanent character to which. all future disputes could be com- pulsorily referred.
Was
"We are instructed to say that the Guild still adheres to that contention and that if the Com- pany is not at this present june- ture prepared to carry out what the obvious intention of H.B.M's." Consul-General's letter 12th May 1916, and the spirit of the arrangement then arrived
at,
the members of the Guild, on their part, intend still to main-" tain for the future their full rights thereunder." The Company acknowledged this letter by the following on 6th November 1920:-
"Our London Principals in- struct us to inform you that we are prepared always to meet, . our Staff and or the C.N. Co. members on the Management Committee and the Secretaries of the Gullds, either with, or without IX.B.M's. Shipping Vice- Consul, in order to discuss any constructive suggestions from them but without prejudico to Decem- our letter dated 11th ber 1917, as regards arbitra tion."
"These Guilds therefore, de termined to maintain inviolate the 1916 Agreement, affirm the resolutions passed at Shanghal and Hongkong on 9th and 23rd May respectively, regarding the stoppage of all the Company's vessels on 30th June 1927, and heroby instruct the Secretaries to address forthwith a communi- cation to the Company in reply to their letter, advising that the Guild's letter of 24th May 1927, clearly defined the decision of the Guilds, to which communi cation there is nothing to add except to point out to the Com- pany that any suspension of the services on the 30th Inst." will be due solely to their atti- the tude
pepudiating in Agreement of May 1916, which bears the signature of the Com- pany as a party thereto, and that the responsibility for such stoppage must therefore rest entirely with the Company."
An Absolute Deadlock.
To a letter received from the local Agents of the Company, tho "We have to acknowledge re- Guilds replied on the 17th inst. as ceipt of your letter dated 5th follows:- November and we enclose copies of our letters to China Const Officers' Guild dated 11th De cember 1917 and 26th January'. 1918 which define the Com- pany's position."
Butterfield and Swire.”
The first attempt of this Com(Sgd.) pany to evade the Agreement Id
The Present Dispute. shown by the following letter which was addressed to the Guilds The present dispute between the on 11th December, 1927:
Company and the Guilds is, then, "All the outstanding questions the first that has existed for the in the settlement of 12th May, past seven years and exercising 1916, between the Captains and their prerogativa under the Agree. Officers' representatives having ment of May 1916, the Guilds ap- now been settled, our Prinproached H.B.M. Shipping. Vice- cipals have instructed us to Consul with the requeat that the advise you that so far as they Adjustment Board be convened to future adjudicato and determine the dis- concerned any proposals to refer to arbitration pute and he expressed himself as
willing, to act as Chairman In ac must be "by mutual consent."
aro
"We are in receipt of yours. under daté 15th inst. With re- ference to the first paragraph of yours of June 4th and the third paragraph of yours now under reply, which are prac- tically identical in tenor and which record:-v
"We are prepared always to meet our Staff and or the CN. Co. members on the Manage- ment Committee and the Becre tarles of the Guilds, ofther with or without I.B.M.'s Shipping Vice-Consul..
"We are to point out that whilst these Gullds are perfectly willing to meet the Company'e representatives on any matter in dispute in accordance with
(Continued on Page 0.)