REPORT BY THE
COMMODORE-IN-CHARGE.
A. Labour.
The Naval Dockyard was fortunate in having Commander (S) Hickman and Lieut. Cdr. Kirby released from local Prisoner of War Camp on arrival of the Port Party. Both these officers were here for some years up to 1941, and were invaluable with their knowledge of local conditions and personnel and pre-war Dockyard arrangements.
2. Other released Prisoners of War, who came direct to duty, were eight European members of the Dockyard Police and these formed a valuable nucleus round which to rebuild the police organisation on pre-war lines.
3. Many hundreds of Chinese pre-war employees, both industrial and clerical, were re-engaged in the first few weeks and many more later as they returned from Macao and the interior of China.
4. An interim arrangement for pay was introduced in September which was revised in December in order to stabilise basic wages for the various categories.
5. The introduction of this new schedule caused dissatisfac- tion, especially with the mechanic grades, and the Engineering Union represented the matter so strongly that a concession was made to men who could be classed as tradesmen.
6.
Other categories, notably the Transport Drivers, have also expressed dissatisfaction and the pay of this class of workmen has also been raised.
7. A one-day strike of Transport Drivers employed by the Royal Navy occurred on Wednesday, 27th February, but this had nothing to do with pay, and was a protest against the method of time-keeping which had recently been tightened up.
8. In general it can be stated that the early return of so many pre-war employees and their willingness to work contributed greatly to the ability of the Yard to resume operations,
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