UNION THREAT BROKEN HILL AFFAIR

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 118, 15 November 1945, Page 7

UNION THREAT BROKEN HILL AFFAIR

NEGOTIATION DEMANDED

(By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright.) Rec. 11.45 a.m. SYDNEY, Nov. 151 Union officials have issued what amounts to an ultimatum to the Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley) in an effort to make him intervene in the steel strikes at Newcastle and Port Kembla. They have threatened that the strikes will be extended to other industries unless Mr Chifley compels the Broken Hill Proprietary to send representatives to confer with the officers of the deregistered Ironworkers' Union. They also stated that the industrial Eeace conference to be held, m Canerra on December 10 co\ld be "written off as a failure before it opened' unless aE existing disputes were settled in the meantime. This attitude of the unions was defined at an interview between the State Minister of Labour (Mr. Knight) and members of the working committee which has been appointed to take charge of steel strikes on behalf of the disputes committee of the Trades and 'Labour Council. The union representatives asked Mr. Khieht to convey their ultimatum to Mr Chifley. Mr. Knight told the committee that he would convey its views to the Prime Minister, and would support the proposal that the committee should confer with representatives of ;the Commonwealth and State Governments in an attempt to 'formulate a plan of action." , . The opinion in the unions is that a deadlock has now been reached which will not be resolved for a long time if the Federal Government does not intervene. According to the official report of the interview, Mr. Knight told the union officials that the officers of Broken Hill Proprietary had refused to attend any conference for the settlement of! strikes m which officials of the Ironworkers' Union participated. _- . • j The Ironworkers' Union was deregistered by a Full Court of the Industrial Commission on September 4 following what -was termed "a deliberate and premeditated challenge to the authority of the Commission " The de-registration order was made because of the union's instruction for the cessation of work at two factories when a Judge went to inspect them with a view to making an award. .