DRIVERS’ STRIKE LIKELY

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24798, 12 February 1946, Page 4

DRIVERS’ STRIKE LIKELY

WELLINGTON DISPUTE OTHER TRANSPORT WORKERS MAY BE INVOLVED (P.A.) WELLINGTON, February 11. A stop-work meeting of 1200 motor and horse drivers in the Wellington district will be held on Thursday morning to discuss the dispute between Munt, Cotterell, and Company, Ltd., and its drivers. It is likely that the union will declare a full strike, to take effect at the week-end. In the meantime, the New Zealand Transport Workers’ Federation is watching the situation closely, and if the Drivers’ Union votes for a strike it is likely that all of the 30,000 transport workers within the federation in Wellington, including thousands of railway workers, watersiders, tram way men. harbour workers, seamen, and possibly cooks and stewards, will become involved, thus tying up completely the transport system of the province and perhaps later of other centres.

The cause of the dispute was a dismissal notice given last Thursday to a driver employed by Munt, Cotterell. The man’s fellow drivers at once accused the manager, Mr E. S. Craig, of victimisation. The man involved was a union delegate, and .in protest all Munt, Cotterell drivers went on strike on Friday, and stayed out on Saturday and again to-day. They will not go back to work in tne meantime. The man concerned lost a crate of steel weighing, about two tons from his truck near the railway station early last week. Mr Craig denied that he had victimised the driver, but said that he had been given notice because he did not report the accident to him, and because of the damage done to the cargo and the lorry. Mr Craig has reported the matter to the Labour Department. Officers of the department attempted to make contact with the Acting-Minister of Labour (the Hon. J. O’Brien), who is on the West Coast. Up to a late hour to-night no report of Mr O’Brien’s views about the strike had been received. nor any indication of his intention to take action, though in recent strikes in other industries he has intervened.