Overtime at sea

[j.sabourn]

#20... 1300 to 1500 was considered the 2 hours of silence. When certain people got their afternoon nap. Must confess I need it more today than I did then. JS

[Les Woodard]

[QUOTE=
But here in Oz we have some of the most expensive and ridiculous penalty rates.

Time and a half for Saturday, double time Sunday and double time and a half for public holidays.
No other country uses such rates, France I have heard pay a 20% loading on public holidays but that is all.[/QUOTE]

Got me puzzled what this has to do with overtime when we where at sea John or just getting rid of your SOL concerning unions here in Oz lol.

Who on deck can recall the arguments that took place as to what the time was when tying up and approaching the hour as once you broke the hour one was entitled to another hours overtime. We would drag the lead tying up and every time the mate would insist that the cronometer had not passed the hour. Do not think that we ever won that argument especially as once tied up all we where interested in was getting a few jars down us and the possibility of getting a leg over.

[j.sabourn]

In 1964 the NMB book quoted for mate 27 pounds 2/6d. A month in lieu of overtime. It took all of that to just doing the overtime sheets making them match up to correspond to all the broken meal hours , loss of sleep, and hours worked, on top of all the other duties. Overtime to a mate or 2nd. Engineer was a pain in the ass. Consolidated hours made the job that much easier, but if the consolidated hours matches up with the work done is in the eye of the beholder and will vary ship to ship and trade to trade. Today alone where someone is doing 6 on and 6 off, under the old system would be entitled to a continuous 6 hours a day overtime before any overtime as such was worked. Is quite often worked as well but no monetary gain.. so when today you join a ship you know straight away if you can afford it, as what you see is what you get. Cheers JWS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi John.
I threw out all my old payoff slips a few years ago but kept the last one from the UK. British builder 12 months trip 55 to 56, overtime was 12pounds one shilling and one and half pence, but as Less has said I went to sea because I loved it, free travel, food such as it was, bed for the night I bet there are many people today who would jump at the chance.
As for the demise of the MN, Harold Wilson the pipe smoking twat was the real cause of it's calamitous end.
Des

[j.sabourn]

The socialist who wasn’t really a socialist, only when it suited. He spoke two languages, broad Yorkshire for the riff raff, and Eton English when among his own peers. In 1967 when he put a limit of 50 pounds per person leaving the country, only affected the working man who put him there, his real friends the upper crust it had no effect on at all. His underling Brown would have been a disaster if ever took over, couldn’t even hide his emotions , was publicly crying on television on the death of Kennedy in 1963/64. He could have had a second career as a paid mourner. Cheers JS

[Doc Vernon]

Not wanting to detract from your Original Post on Trampers JS
Just to fill in my Ships with UCL always got plenty of OT in fact some times too much,but it was all welcome.as those Years I used to send Money home to my dear Mum who was on her own with my Younger Sister,Dad had vanished a few Years before,but all worked out in the end ,all forgiven and forgotten,still loved him dearly!
But with all the extra Cash at least it made us the Talk of the Town when ashore,as what I kept I spent like Water flowing ! LOL
The Golden Years that was!

[j.sabourn]

Yes it varied ship to ship. But on the likes of tramp ships you were a captive there for a long time and had to accept the caprices of different owners. Have seen ABs paying off with 12 pounds overtime for over 6 months. Would maybe also have been told by some shipping office clerk that the overtime was sky high. A lot joined ships under a mishaprehension that they were going to be comfortable moneywise. Have also seen some who have had to sign on , on the next set of articles as paid off in debt. JWS

[Les Woodard]

Just remembered the old BA fliers that BSL had and how we would sign for all our overtime as we signed on so that we could be worked any time that suited the Blue Star. Now delving into the old memory banks here but think it was around 400 hours for a six week turn around. Did not the union tell vesty that they would black list his ships unless he put rec rooms on them. His reply was that his crews did not have time of for recreation and low and behold he still got full crews. As said before I was lucky shipping out BSL. Think the saying on the BA fliers was that when signing off there would be two trucks waiting for you. 1 to carry you of and the second to carry the pay.

[happy daze john in oz]

Got me puzzled what this has to do with overtime when we where at sea John or just getting rid of your SOL concerning unions here in Oz lol.

Who on deck can recall the arguments that took place as to what the time was when tying up and approaching the hour as once you broke the hour one was entitled to another hours overtime. We would drag the lead tying up and every time the mate would insist that the cronometer had not passed the hour. Do not think that we ever won that argument especially as once tied up all we where interested in was getting a few jars down us and the possibility of getting a leg over.

No
Les, just showing how rates here compare with what we got, or in many cases did not get at sea.
As a winger with UCL not a brass Rasso and often did a 12 hour day, only as officers steward did I ever get any overtime.
But for a number of voyages the second steward, the man who sanctioned all overtime was married to the daughter of one of the Caysers.

[j.sabourn]

#22... Les I am prejudiced I know, but after seeing what unfederated and non union ships in the North Sea were paying , and being part of that group for about 2 years as there was nothing else suitable , not that the ships I was on were suitable but kept the wolf away from the door just, combined with another small income.. coming to Australia and working through the system of unions that the Shipping was run through at that time, while my heart may have bled for the shipowners . I struggled through my guilt for them and just reminded myself of past instances when the boot was on the other foot. I never found anything to decry the conditions of service out here offshore for any seafarer from the highest to the lowest. Today though I am told by ex shipmates still in the industry all has changed to what it used to be, It’s like swings and roundabouts , and is usually all due to what power is in the chair. The unions controlled what would have been the federation by UK standards, I admit some of the claims were far fetched but were always there to advance the conditions of their members. Human nature being what it is you will always get the self seeking individuals on both sides of the fence. However if I had a choice of having a Union there for assistance I would maybe be one of the few who would grab it with both hands. Such is the organised media and other anti union propoganda that is spewed out that they can’t have anything else but a bad reputation believed by the people who don’t care in any case. Cheers JS