MELBOURNE TRAMS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18675, 26 April 1926, Page 14

MELBOURNE TRAMS.

. ' REGULATION STRIKE. A I W DISORGANISED, ' '■' (nunc oua owv co*ranoxi»R.Ji< " '. > SYDNEY, April: 16. | The {'tramway employees of 7 Mel-1 bourne have found another method of ' 'djrect r aption without actually Vleayisg! their work. This is the regulation, or! ''teay/"" strike,- by which all employees adhere so strictly to the regulations of the department that gradually-accumu-lating delay oecuTs* until the'service becomes entirely disorganised. This ruse was put into very effective use on two of the, most important Melbourne tramway services last Saturday, because a dispute' had occurred between the employees and the management of the Tramways Board, > The strike was instituted as a protest ttgahist disciplinary "action .taken against employees on the St. Hilda road tram lines. The men concerned were punished for irregularities, in the running of-the St. Kilda road trams arising from complaints by the men against the refusal of the Board to pay them Li .. , for the time occupied in their luuchhour [ period in walking between the tramway ' \ depot and the trams in St. Kilda road. \ Grave'inconvenience was caused to "' tramway passengers by the regulation ;| strike. Starting early in the morning, \the delay brought about by strict adto such rules that-no tram would proceed when passengers were standing, and that trams should be stopped opposite prospective passengers ruaehed its height during the "peak" (traffic hours between midday and one o'clock;' Where there should have been Italy one or two minutes between trams iti this time, as much as twelve minute*\elapsed. One effect of the strike yru to increase the vehicle traffic congestion in Melbourne's busiest street, Swanston street. This was largely due to the obstruction caused by people at the safety zone areas, where'the crowds often extended beyond the safety sones into the street. A', large number of people, unable to find accommodation in the trams. I patronised the Tramway Board's buses, arid this increased the standing time of the'buses in Swanston street, . consequently, adding to traffic congestion. . Officials of the unions declared that en many of the lines the trams were running l late. There had been no al- ' tercations between the Board's inspee- „ tor* and the employees,-and as far as i the Union was concerned, the regulation -strike-was being conducted smoothly. ■ One offlcfal asserted that if .the Board's . , »*ruie«rwere observed 'in their entirety t , ( therevwould be complete disorganisa- ,•' j*t, £l j [ >'i Melbourneites 'were heard to express 'L^fef^^ n nt' t ? a * tney were fortunate in s ', i l/WW-.hating so many of the Board's I broken.