TROUBLE IN AUSTRALIA

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 103, 5 May 1926, Page 7

TROUBLE IN AUSTRALIA

I FORTY-FOUR HOUR WEEK. i f IRON TRADES CONFERENCE. MANY PIACES CLOSE DOWN. ! CBy Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright.) t i (Received 11.30 a.m.) SYDNEY, this day. 1 At the request of the Iron Trades Unions a conference will be held this morning between the employers and . union representatives to discuss the ; trouble over the 44-hour week. In addition to representatives of all the affected unions members of the disputes committee of the Labour Council will attend. Fears are entertained that unless an early settlement is reached the number of unemployed will be increased considerably. While many establishments have closed down others are being kept open in anticipation of an early settlement.— (A. and N.Z.)

DRIVERS AND COLLIERS.

A TRTTCE BROUGHT ABOUT. I , (Received 12 Noon.) MELBOURNE, this day. Federal officials of the Federated Engine Drivers and Firemen's Association have been notified that the colliery proprietors have agreed to meet the representatives of the organisation in conference to discuss the dispute on condition that the fourteen days' notice to cease work is withdrawn. ~ A meeting of the Federal executive of the union is to be held to-day in Sydney to consider the communication. It is stated that a truce has been brought about by the intervention of the , Minister of Mines, New South Wales, Mr. J. M. Baddeley, and -two leading employers in Melbourne. The general secretary of the association said: ''There is every prospect of notice to cease work being withdrawn pending negotiations" (A. and 3ST.Z.)

DISPUTE IN AUSTRALIA.

TROUBLE IMMINENT. SYDNEY, May 4. Both sides in the dispute over hours >re busy putting their 'houses in order J for what promises to be a hard-fought ■and widening struggle unless the unexj pected occurs. May Day meetings at j various centres and meetings of unions ] throughout the Commonwealth adopted j resolutions in support of the attitude of j the men. • A meeting of union officials at the ; Trades Hall to-day discussed the position j and instructed the unions to collate sta- ; tistics showing the numbers of men out of work in various trades. Until this j was done it was impossible to state how I many men were rendered idle. The meeting adopted a report covering the whole position for presentation to the Minister Jof Labour. Mr. Garden; secretary of the Trades J Council, issued a statement outlining the ; progress of the 44-hours movement. In jit he repudiates the statement that the j Federal unions "had broken the law in I refusing to work a 48-hour week. He l states that the unions went through all I the legal channels to obtain the shorter week, but when it was granted the '"Nationalist Government threw the judgjnient of the Court overboard. Mr. J. T. . Lang. Premier of New South Wales, then 'appealed to the country on the question, Jjind was returned to give effect to the claim for the 44-hours week. This he did. i Mr. Garden charged Mr. S. M. Bruce, Federal Prime Minister, with being responsible for all the trouble which had resulted. Legal and Parliamentary action having failed them, the only resource the unions had was to take action on the job. This they had done. There was a new development to-day at the Lithgow Ironworks. The majority of the employees took yesterday off to celebrate May Day. When they reported for work this morning they were told they would not be allowed to start. They will be idle for at least a week. Several hundred are affected. A deputation from the unions interviewed Mr. J. M. Baddeley, Minister of Labour, and urged that the Government should take action to secure a \iniform 44-hours week. One representative said thye were determined to fight to a finish, even if this meant no work for 12 months. Mr. Bad&eley, on behalf of the Government, gave an assurance that no j women and children would suffer as a i result of the present trouble. He said i that Mr. S. M. Bruce, Federal Prime Minister, proposed to refer the matter ito three judicial authorities. TV was up to him to deal with the situation. The New South Wales Government was determined that the 44-hour week should be observed, continued Mr. Badj deley, and believed that when Mr. Bruce j called a conference of the other States I they would adopt a similar attitude. If necessary he favoured calling Parliament together to deal with the situation, but all he could say was that he believed something would happen by the end of the week to settle the trouble. — (A. and JKZ.) j =====