WATERSIDERS & STATE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 115, 18 May 1938, Page 11

WATERSIDERS & STATE

clash Beared

THE SYDNEY DISPUTE LOADING OF IRON FOR JAPAN SYDNEY, May 17. Shipping circles are perturbed at the probable outcome of a clash between the Federal .Government and the Sydney men concerning the loading of scrap-iron for Japan. All the wharves here will be idle on May 25 for a stopwork meeting of watersiders to decide their attitude to the Government's ultimatum. ■ This warning, if carried out, means that every wharf worker in Sydney will be required to take out alicence before he can obtain employment Sydney unionists so far have escaped the licensing obligation, but the watersiders at Melbourne and Adelaide have been working under It since the last shipping hold-up. More than 3000 tons of scrap metal are lying on the Port Adelaide wharves because of the refusal of the watersiders to load it for Japan.,

A Sydney message published yesterr day stated that the waterside workers who have refused to load scrap iron and other material for Japan have been warned by the Federal Ministry that unless they agree by May 25 to load all cargoes which are offering the licensing provisions of the Transport Workers' Act will be applied to the Sydney members of the Waterside Workers' Federation'and disciplinary action taken at other ports. In a letter *to the federation, the Prime Minister (Mr. J. A. Lyons) stated that the Government takes the view that no sufficient reason exists for the imposition of an embargo on the exports in question.