DRIVER'S DISMISSAL

Evening Star, Issue 25715, 12 February 1946, Page 4

DRIVER'S DISMISSAL

MM INVOLVE TRANSPORT TIE-UP 30,000 WORKERS MAY BE IN STRIKE (P.A.) .WELLINGTON, Feb. 11. A stop-work meeting of 1.200 motor and horse drivers in the Wellington district will be held on Thursday morning to discuss the dispute between Munt, Cotterell. and Co. Ltd. and its drivers. It is likely that the union will declare a full strike to take effect at the week-end. In the meantime the New Zealand Transport Workers' Federation is watching the situation closely, and if the Drivers' Union votes for a strike it is likely that all of the 30,000 transport workers within the federation in Wellington, including thousands of railway workers, watersiders, tram- , waymen, harbour workers, seamen, and possibly cooks and stewards, will become involved, thus-tying up completely the transport system of the province and perhaps later of other centres. The cause of the dispute was the dismissal notice given last Thursday to a driver employed by Munt, Cotterrell, and Co. The man's fellowdrivers at once accused the manager, Mr E. S. Craig, of victimisation. The man involved was a union delegate, and in protest all Munt, Cotterell drivers went out on strike on Friday, and stayed out on Saturday and again to-day. They will not go back to work in the meantime. Tho man concerned lost a crate of steel weighing about two tons from his truck near the railway station early last week. Mr Craig denied he had victimised the driver, but said that he had been given notice because he did • not report the accident to hini and because - of the damage done \to the cargo and the lorry. Mr Craig reported the matter yesterday to the Labour Department, whose official attempted to make contact with ho Minister«of Labour, Mr O'Brien, who is on the West Coast. Up to a late hour to-night no report of Mr O'Brien's views about the strike had been received, nor any indication of his intention to take action", though in recent strikes in other industries he has intervened-