STRIKE OVER

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1946, Page 9

STRIKE OVER

AIR FORCE MEN DIVIDED HALF DECIDE TO REMAIN IN SERVICE SOME BITTER COMMENT (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Sept. 20. After standing firm since Tuesday in their demand for a 40hour five-day week, the dissatisfied airmen of the Interim Air Force on Auckland stations to: day called off their strike. - Faced with returning to work tinder conditions laid down by the Air Department or accepting their discharges, niore than half the men qecided to remain in the service. Arrangements for the discharge of the remainder are being made to-day and some expect to be out of uniform to-night. “Scabbing” Aheged. ■ Sympathy for those strikers who decided to stay in was expressed by a Mechanics Bay station delegate. ““They will throw everything in the book at them,”'he sas. “They have let themselves in for something now, but they have got no squeal coming. Our attitude is that any man still in uniform and any man who comes in to replace us is a ‘scab.’ ” He added that they had been told that they could get their release from the Air Force to-day and be out of service to-night. The accumulative leave owing, to them had been “scrubbed.” “They have quit. We had no option. We have had the Air Force, - ’ said a Whenuapai delegate. “Most of us are old hands who fought overseas for the privileges enjoyed by civilians. “Now we have got knocked back when we asked for the same privileges. We are very disappointed in the Minister, Mr. Jones. He is our boss, but did not think us important enough to address us.” The approximate number of strikers from three Auckland stations who are accepting their discharge, with those remaining in parentheses, are: Whenuapai, 120 (200); Hobsonville, 100 (100); Mechanics Bay, 46 (58). “A Bit Bolshie.” “Some of the new entrants who. joined up this year have been misled by the older 'men. One or two of the qlder n.c.o.’s, who are a bit Bolshie, seem to have been behind it,” said Group Captain Hunter, senior Air Force officer, Auckland. He added that a dishonourable discharge could only follow a courtmartial offence. The men, therefore, wou|d receive an honourable discharge. v