RAILWAYS’ STOPPAGE

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30028, 12 January 1963, Page 13

RAILWAYS’ STOPPAGE

Union Election Issue The 48-hour stoppage by members of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants early last month will be the issue* for the election of the national president this year.

Mr A E. Armstrong, secretary of the Canterbury branch of the association, intends to stand for the presidency, and has said that the stoppage—it was a protest against the State Services Bill —did a great disservice to the public service generally and that strike action and the holding up of the railways should have been the last resort Mr Armstrong also intends to stand for re-election as branch secretary.

His criticism'of ths stoppage is bound to cause dissension in the railwaymen’s organisation. The branch chairman (Mr G. Finlayson) has already called a meeting of his executive committee to discuss Mr Armstrong’s statement and it unanimously dissociated itself from his comments. It reaffirmed its support for the leadership of the national council of the society during the December stoppage and for the Federation of Labour. Mr Armstrong had the right to make any statement in his private capacity but this should not be mistaken for the union official view, said Mr Finlayson. “The executive considers the issues Involved were discussed at length before the stoppage through a special branch meeting, a mass stopwork meeting, two explanatory leaflets from the national office, two public statements by the Canterbury branch chairman, and a special edition of the union newspaper after the stoppage.” The sitting national president, Mr D. M. Kane, has contented himself in the meantime by commenting that Mr

Armstrong might And it difficult to fulfil the duties of national president as well as his local body responsibilities. He is a recently-elected city councillor and member of the Lyttelton Harbour Board.