STRIKE SETTLED

Evening Star, Issue 23834, 14 March 1941, Page 6

STRIKE SETTLED

OH GOVERNMENT TERMS EXECUTIVES’ EXPRESSION OF REGRET MEN MUST WORK TO-MORROW [Pub Unhid Press Association,] WELLINGTON, November 14. The railway strike at the Woburn workshops has been settled, according to an announcement made by the ■Minister of Railways, Mr Semple, today on the following Government terms ” The Government accepts the statement that the national executive of the A.S.R.S. and the national executive of the New Zealand Railway Tradesmen’s Association regret that any action of their members was carried out in an unconstitutional manner. The Government has further decided to permit the Hutt workshops employees to resume duty under the conditions existing prior to their refusal to work on Saturday mornings. The men concerned will be expected to resume before Monday, March 17. Any member not commencing before that date, except in the case of illness, will be considered as being absent without leave, and his name will be written off the books accordingly.” MINISTER AND RETURNED MEN NO SLIGHT OH THEIR LOYALTY [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, March 14. “ My attention has been drawn to a statement in the Wellington papers reporting that approximately 200 returned soldiers who are concerned in the dispute at the Hutt Workshops attended a meeting, at which exception was taken to my remarks regarding troublemakers in the workshops,” said the Minister of Railways, Mr Semple, today. 11 How the returned soldiers can twist my remarks to take them as a challenge against the loyalty of returned soldiers is beyond me. It is as absurd as it is ridiculous,” he said. After quoting what he had said, Mr Semple added he never had the faintest idea that any returned soldiers were associated with the handful to whom he had referred. He had made it abundantly clear, he said, that his remarks did not apply to the rank and file of the workers. He did say that there were a few men in the workshops who were associated with the Communist movement. Therefore, he had nothing to withdraw and no apologies to make for what he had said. He would leave it to the public to judge whether he had said anything that could be taken as offensive to the returned soldiers in the workshops or anywhere else. “ I have said many times that the Communists and those’ associated with them are vassals ol a-foreign organisation and their presence in the country is a menace, because' they belong to wreckers, and not to builders,” said Mr Semple. ‘‘ I would he sorry to think returned soldiers or any other loyal citizens would ally themselves with such a group. In fact, I would he loath to believe it.”