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Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 141, 11 December 1935, Page 11

treatment. They are continually falling out, not only with their employers, but also with their union officials, who, both in the present strike and in a' short-lived one of about two months ago, have been flagrantly flouted by the rank and file, urged on by a few militants in each port. Sydney has been the hotbed of this militancy, probably because it is the Federal headquarters of the union and is the home port of most of the vessels on the Australian register. Here the chief industrial battles have been fought. It is difficult to say at the time of writing whether or not the strike will be prolonged. On the one hand there is.the ultimatum of the Federal Government to the seamen to resume work by tomorrow morning, the penalty being the institution of a system of licensing seamen, whereunder any man refusing to return to work would be automatically and substantially excluded from future employment in the industry. On the other hand the seamen seem to be in a mood to defy authority—there has seldom been such a big' majority , against the union officials and seldom such unanimity among the various port branches of the union. Then, again, other strikes have arisen from local disputes and have been extended by union loyalty, whereas this one personally affects every member of the union. SEAMEN'S DEMANDS. Recently the Federal Arbitration Court, after a long judicial inquiry, announced a new award. It was to come into effect on December 1. The award, although granting wage increases averaging 22s 6d a month and ranging as high as £3, took away some of the privileges seamen had enjoyed. The overtime rate was reduced by threepence an hour; deferred sailing time (during which the men were paid) was eliminated; rates for nightwatchmen were reduced; a number of other minor conditions were adjusted. In short, the men want to keep the wage increases granted, but also desire to retairi the conditions of the old award for the surrender of which the increases were given as a balance. Stop-work meetings last week, when a majority of the ships were not in their home ports, decided to reject the award and to refuse crews for ships. It was thought that these decisions would be reversed at later meetings when more ships would be in their home ports and working seamen would be able to attend in force, and so swamp the permanently unemployed members of the union who always seem to start these disputes. Instead, the later meetings endorsed the decisions, flouting the officials' recommendation for a plebiscite. GOVERNMENT'S WEAPONS. It was a few hours after these meetings that the Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons) announced the Government's issue of an ultimatum to the strikers. The Government's chief weapon to back its threat is the Transport Workers Act. This was primarily passed to stop continual strife on the waterfront —to prevent wharf labourers' strikes by licensing such workers and cancelling the licences of the men who go on strike. This system has been effective in securing peace on the wharves. The Government is determined to apply it permanently to the men on the ships unless they return to work. Another weapon it possesses is its power to grant permits to oversea liners to carry passengers between Australian ports.