HOW A STRIKE STARTED

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15767, 7 December 1916, Page 10

HOW A STRIKE STARTED

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SYDNEY. November i*/)

1 One of the difficulties of administorj i.nj; the affairs of the Northern Territory, being, met with by Dr. Gilruth date of Xev.. Zealand) has to do with a militant labour organisation. A remarkable example of its temper and a-.-- ■ tivitiea Avas recently provided at Port Darwin. The Houtman, a 0000-ton steamer, with cargo and passengers, on her way to Java and Eastern pons. j called at Port Darwin to discharge 10;'-O ' tons of general . merchandise. The uhari labourer.; had removed about 100 tons when a laden sling, swinging, ! j. knocked a,young I.'ussian out of a' truck. He. foil against the. side of the steamer, and-into the water from ; which he. was immediatelv taken, sightly-injured.-The captain", who-aw the., accident, -ordered a stretcher and j pillows, .and .had, the ship's doctor int. attendance inimediatolv. Very soon afterwards the rumour • went arouud .that the captain had .-aid j of the Russians'mishap that "it. *orv- ! ed.Jnm .right.'' The labourers cease! ' work, and called on the captain to apologise. : The. captain denied making suoha remark. He stated that al! he' had said was that the accident was the man's own fault. The men doclar.ee! they would not resume work until the captain auologfsed: the captain naturally refused to anologw for a remark he did not make. ' The cnptaii. waited for a few hours, but as th-.-strike continued', he decided t 0 conttuue the voyage, and sailed for Java, carrymg..ooo tons of Port Darwin carpo . with him. ;

•These wharf" labourers air part of the Australian Workers' Union and the members of this organisation, which is sair] to have something approaching a strnnplc-hold on industry in the Northern Territory, are 70 per cent, foreigners. The A.W.U. originallv imposed an'abnormal rate of wages in the North, and by.this act attracted from other parts of Australia and from abroad a great many foreigners, mostly Greeks. Then, hi order to prevent the foreigners undercutting, thoy were taken into the union. And ?iow the union- is controlled by the foreigners, and. is a .very dictatorial and uncertain institution It is openly said that its power must be broken, if a very severe handicap is .to be removed from the Territory.