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In
peace time the Merchant Seaman were treated as casual labourers; now
they get an assured wage varying according to their rating and fixed by
the National Maritime Board.
In
May, 1941, the Essential Work [Merchant Navy] Order was made, and a
registration was held covering broadly all persons who had served as
masters or members of the crew of a merchant ship at any time since 1st
January 1936, and who were no longer in the Merchant Navy. Thousands of
men registered and many returned to sea within a short time. The rest
were left in their shore employment – usually of an essential kind –
until such time as they were required for sea service.
They
come from every walk of life; in particular the certificated engineers
whose services are in great demand may come from munitions factories,
aircraft factories, engineering companies and of course shipbuilding and
marine engineering where many of them were employed. In addition to
experienced and qualified men the Merchant Navy also needs boys and
youths who have has pre-sea training or engineering apprenticeships, and
there is no lack of such volunteers. Under the Essential Work [Merchant
Navy Order there is established a Merchant Navy Reserve Pool, managed
jointly by employers and workers, of which all seaman automatically
become members when they cease to be employed by an individual employer
and from which they draw “Pool Pay” while awaiting a ship.
Then
in December, 1941, the Ministry made a Restriction on Transfer Order for
the building and civil engineering industries, now working at high
pressure on factories, camp and airfields, to prevent the transfer of
workers, subject to certain exemptions, from one place to another
without the permission of the National Service Officer. This and similar
measures were designed to make certain of a large degree of control in
the movement of labour, so that men’s time and skill should not be
wasted and we should make the best use of our workers.
As
the demands on our manpower have increased it has become necessary to
work out a system of labour preferences, to make sure of the supply of
labour for our most urgent needs. Preferences are determined by a
Committee of officials of the Supply Departments, the Board of Trade,
and Ministry of Production, under a chairman appointed by the Ministry
of Labour. This Committee selects the firms to which transferable labour
shall be supplied until demands are met. The firms concerned are largely
in the engineering and aircraft industries, but the field has recently
been extended to cover many other industries and services essential to
the war effort. A specialised system of labour preferences has been
developed for special classes of labour, for example, shipbuilding, iron
and steel, chemicals and building.
Finally, much has been
done for the welfare of a body of men whose courage and endurance have
contributed so much to our cause – the merchant seamen. A Seamen’s
Welfare Board has been set up by the Ministry of Labour to advise on all
questions concerning the welfare of British Allied and Foreign seamen in
British ports, and of the crews of British ships in overseas ports.
Port Welfare Committees
have been set up in the chief ports here, and Seamen’s Welfare
Officers have been appointed to act as secretaries to these Committees
as officers of the Department. Merchant Navy Houses providing
residential accommodation have been set up at Cardiff, Grimsby, Glasgow,
Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Newcastle and Newport, others are to
follow shortly.
There are also special
welfare arrangements for Indian and Chinese seamen, and for the seamen
of Allied and neutral countries.
Recreational clubs have
also been provided. These afford all kinds of facilities, including
reading and writing rooms, games and billiard rooms, dining rooms and
bars. Guests of both sexes are admitted. There are already such clubs at
Avonmounth, Barry, Cardiff, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, London, Newport,
Swansea and West Hartlepool, and other at Aberdeen and South Shields are
being prepared.
The Merchant Navy Club
at London, in Rupert Street, Piccadilly, and those at Glasgow and
Cardiff, were founded through donation received from the British War
Relief Society in America. The Ocean Club at Liverpool was set up by the
Liverpool Seamen’s Welfare Centre through a fund subscribed by ship
owners and others; it also has a small grant-in-aid from the Exchequer.
These Clubs, which have created an entirely new standard of recreational
opportunities for merchant seamen, are, except for the Ocean Club at
Liverpool, under the management of the National Service Hostels
Corporation.
The voluntary
organisations, too, have established many new hostels, institutions and
clubs, and extended and improved existing ones.
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