LABOUR DISPUTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 April 1922, Page 5

LABOUR DISPUTES

ENGINEERING & SHIPBUILDING. SIGNS OF SETTLEMENT. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, April 5. Mr Lloyd George and Dr Macnamara to-day had a series of conferences aiming at ending the engineering and shipbuilding disputes. To-night the General Workers and the Foundry Workers’ Unions, the largest section affected outside the Amalgamated Engineers, informed the engineers that they were willing to accept the employers’ latest conditions for a withdrawal of the lock-out notices as a fair basis for direct negotiations.

This is a break-away of 47 unions from the Amalgamated Engineers, and is the sequel to the conferences with Mr Lloyd George. The position is that the representatives of these unions will immediately rename their conference with the employers, who are now considering a cancellation of their lock-out notices, leaving the Amalgamated Engineers to fight, on alone. Ihe engineers have protested vigorously against the action of the other unions. LATER. The employers have agreed to suspend the lock-out notices, pending negotiations with the unions other than the Amalgamated Engineers. REDUCED WAGES OPPOSED. LONDON, April 5. The shipbuilding workers’ trade unions held a ballot, in which they rejected the employers’ proposed reduction in wages. The voting was :— Against reduction ...' 87,026 Acceptance 26,451 The National Joint Council of Labou has offered to mediate. RAND DISTURBANCES. CAPETOWN, April 4. In the Union Assembly, the Minister of Mines said that 7500 Europeans have been re-employed on the Rand gold mines since the strike had been called off. The Minister admitted that 6500 workers had unsuccessfully sought re-employment on the Rand since the strike ended. The Minister of Defence explained that 13,600 troops were employed in the suppressing of the Rand revolt. The rifles they used were a great variety collected from all sources. The Government was considering the advisability of introducing an Arms and Ammunition “Act for better control of arms. SWEDISH PAPER WORKERS. STOCKKHOLM, April 4. The paper industry conflict has ended, the lock-out being withdrawn, and work resuming to-morrow. The agreement operates fill February, 1923, and provides for an immediate reduction in wages, and another in September.