STRIKES MAY BREAK

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 144, 31 March 1948, Page 3

STRIKES MAY BREAK

Railwaymen to Hold Meetings

DISPUTE IN QUEENSLAND

(N.Z.P. A.—Copyright). (Ree. 12.10) BRISBANE, This Day,

Several union officials forecast that the Queensland railway strike, now in its 59th day, will end this week, and that all railwaymen will be back at work on Monday.

The chairman of the central disputes committee, Mr M. O’Brien says that the railwaymen will hold mass meetings throughout Queensland on Friday. Yesterday 506 trains ran in Queensland.

A bitter struggle between Communists and moderates in the Amalgamated Engineering Union is expected to reach a decision at a delegates’ meeting of the union, ordered .in, Brisbane to-day by the Federal Council. The chairman of the Federal Council, Mr J. C ran well, will fly from Sydney to deputise for Mr E. J. Rose, who is still hiding' from the police. The union is now split into two major blocks on the issue of continuing the strike. The North Queensland and Central Queensland branches wish to resume work on the basis of the Government offer of a marginal weekly wage increase on April 12.

The other block, centring on Ipswich and Townsville, favours continuing the strike. Union leaders refuse to comment on a report published in the Sydney Communist newspaper “Tribune,” that it is believed that Mr Cranwell had warned the authorities that they risked the loss of one day’s production in all States for every day Rowe was kept in a Queensland gaol. It is understood that the rank and file of union members are unlikely to accept the Communist’proposal.

PORT STRIKE MAY SPREAD DECISION OF WATERSIDERS (Rec. 12.30) SYDNEY, This Day. The Federal executive of the Waterside Workers’ Federation has decided to extend the Queensland port strike if any attmpt is made to employ volunteer labour. All Queensland ports have been nue since the watersiders and seamen joined the railwaymen’s strike on March 1. Fifteen ships are unloading over 15,000 tons in cargo in Sydney originally intended for Queensland. Sydney shipowners have proposed that the Stevedoring Industry Commission should order Queensland watersiders to return or call for individual volunteers among memoers of the Waterside Workers’ Federation. Queensland shipowners have also demanded that the men be ordered back to work on pain of losing privileges. Goods are now moving freely by road between New South Wales and Queensland. 1