LATE NEWS ANOTHER CLASH WITH STRIKERS IN QUEENSLAND

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 March 1948, Page 5

LATE NEWS ANOTHER CLASH WITH STRIKERS IN QUEENSLAND

(Roe. 3.5 p.m.) BRISBANE, This Day. Using fists and batons, tluypolice broke up an attempted Communistled city march of 150 strikers. Two men were taken to hospital. Five arrests were made, including that of Max Julius.’, a Communist barrister, and Mr Healy, secretary of the Queensland Labour Council. Among the injured in today’s fracas between the police and strikers is a Communist Parliamentarian, Mr F. Paterson, who is in hospital with a fractured skull.

Men and women planned a march through the streets, carry-. ing placards condemning the Premier, Mr Hanlon, hut the police ambushed the marchers on a narrow bridge.

MR SEMPLE BLAMES CLIQUE FOR MARAETAI STRIKE '

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “It is tragic that so hiany working men should have been persuaded, or intimidated, as the case might be, into striking for what probably was presented to them as a trade union principle, but which was, in fact, nothing more or less than an attempt by a clique to secure control of one of the nation’s biggest public works jobs.” This comment was made today by the Minister of Works (Mr Semple) on the strike at Maraetai. Working men, and their wives and children were being forced to suffer hardships, said Mr Semple, because one man was being transferred from one public works job to another. In all his long experience of industrial struggles he had never seen anything so foolish or futile. The Minister emphasised that the Government must retain the right to transfer a man at its discretion. He added that he (Mr Semple) would be shirking his responsibility to the nation if he did not take steps to ensure that the huge Maraetai undertaking progressed smoothly and efficiently.

350,000 MINERS ON STRIKE IN AMERICA

(Rec. 3.5 p.m.) NEW YORK, March 16

The pension rights strike spread to 350,000 of the nation’s 400,000 soft coal miners today and brought a threat of court action from the mine-** owners. The erqployers gave the United Mineworkers’ president, Mr John Lewis, three days to call off the strike and join them in petitioning the Federal Court for the appointment of an arbitrator. The owners contended that the union was violating the Taft-Hartley Labour Act. Coal production decreased by 2,000,000 tons today. ,