On behalf of the Minister for Industry and Commerce, I am taking the Second Reading of this measure.
A draft Convention concerning the marking of the weight on heavy packages transported by vessels was adopted at the Twelfth Session of the International Labour Conference, held in Geneva in 1929. This Convention was ratified by the Government on the 5th July, 1930. It did not, however, come into force until the 9th March, 1932, that is the date on which the ratifications of two States Members of the International Labour Organisation were registered with the Secretary-General of the League of Nations. The Convention has now been ratified by Australia, Belgium, Chile, China, Czechoslovakia, Denmark (conditional), Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Irish Free State, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rumania, South Africa (conditional), Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.
The Convention was adopted with the view of minimising the risk of accidents to which dockers are, by reason of their work, subjected. The Convention provides that any package or object of one metric ton or more consigned for transport by sea or inland waterway must have its gross weight plainly and durably marked upon it on the outside before it is loaded on a ship or vessel. Where it is difficult to determine the exact weight, an approximate weight may be marked. The obligation of seeing that this requirement is observed rests upon the Government of the country from which the package or object is consigned, and not on the Government of a country through which it passes on the way to its destination. The obligation for having the weight marked is placed on the consignor.
The Carriage by Sea (Heavy Articles) Act, 1934, has been drafted with the object of implementing this Convention. The Bill prohibits the loading into any ship, barge, or other vessel, for transport by sea or inland waterway, from a port or other place in the Saorstát, any package the gross weight of which equals or exceeds one thousand kilograms, that is, a metric ton, unless the gross weight is plainly and durably marked on the outside of such package. If the transport by sea or inland waterway commences outside the Saorstát, it will still be illegal to export a package of a metric ton or over unless the true gross weight is plainly and durably marked on the outside. If it is not reasonably practicable to ascertain the exact weight, a statement of the approximate gross weight will be accepted. The person who, by himself, his servant, or agent, consigns in the Saorstát any such package or object for transport by sea or inland waterway, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £10, unless the gross weight is plainly and durably marked on the outside of the package or object in question. Offences may be prosecuted by, or at the suit of, the Minister for Industry and Commerce. The word "consign" includes making with a carrier a contract for the transport of goods.
The measure of safety for dockers, provided by the Convention, will be dependent on the number of countries ratifying the Convention. Only those countries that ratify are bound by the provisions of the Convention. Whereas packages or objects of a metric ton, or more, loaded in the Saorstát for transport by sea or inland waterway, must be plainly and durably marked with the gross weight, goods coming to the Saorstát from States that have not ratified need not be marked. Dockers loading goods for transport from the Saorstát will have the protection accorded by the provisions of the Convention, but the same dockers, when unloading goods from a State that has not ratified, will not have the benefit of knowing the weight of the goods that they have to unload. It will be observed that the Convention applies to a package or object, but does not apply to loose cargo. Employers were not consulted as to the effect of the provisions of this Convention. Messrs. Guinness and Messrs. Jacob will, of course, be affected, but it is understood that it is the practice of these firms to export goods in packages of standard weights which are readily ascertainable.