POWER BOARD STRIKE SETTLED

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25328, 30 October 1947, Page 3

POWER BOARD STRIKE SETTLED

DISPUTE REFERRED TO DEPUTY-JUDGE (P.A.) AUCKLAND. October 28. After a week on strike as a prx>test against the appointment of an outside applicant to the post of garage superintendent, the workshops staff of the Auckland Electric-power Board returned to work this afternoon. The board and the 200 men involved in the stoppage agreed to submit the dispute to a depufy-judge of the Arbitration Court and approved an order of reference for the inquiry. The deputy-judge’s task will be to decide whether the board, in making the appointment, honestly and conscientiously abided by and acted within the principle of preference to existing employees. Negotiations to-day were described by the chairman (Mr S. Irwin Crooker) at a meeting of the board this afternoon. He said representatives of the Auckland Trades Council and of the unions had met members of the board with the object of deciding the order of reference. Mr C. P. Smith, a representative of the Labour Department from Wellington, had presided. A brief discussion had been conducted in a spirit of reasonable amity. The workshops staff met to hear reports from the Trades Council and union representatives. After two hours there was a ‘‘not quite unanimous” decision to accept the proposal of an inquiry by a deputy-judge, to approve the terms of reference, and to return to work. The settlement means that no further action will be taken to call upon operators of sub-stations to cease work m support of the workshops staff. ’Hie possibility of their being withdrawn introduced a direct threat to Che maintenance of normal electricity supplies to the city and suburbs.