SETTLEMENT BID

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21945, 13 February 1946, Page 6

SETTLEMENT BID

MINISTER ACTS TRANSPORT DISPUTE THREATENED STRIKE (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Feb. 13. Union leaders likely to become involved in the transport dispute have been asked to confer with the Minister of Labour to-day. The Minister, Mr. J. O’Brien, will attempt to reach a settlement of the dispute, which threatens .to create a major transport strike. In the meanwhile the decision of the Wellington Drivers’ Union to hold a stop-work meetmg at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning still stands. Efforts have been made by the Labour Department to ' arrange for a conference between the Wellington Drivers Union and the employers under the strike and lock-out regulations. The Wellington Carriers’ Association has agreed to this proposal, but the Drivers’ Union has objected. In a statement regarding the threatened drivers’ strike, the Wellington Carriers’ Association said that the dismissal of the man in question was due not to his being a delegate of the union, but solely to the fact that he failed to load the lorry so as to properly secure the load and as a result damaged the vehicle he was driving and the cargo being carried. He also failed to report the accident. The employers had drawn the attention of the men who had failed to report for work that their action was a breach of the award and that the dispute should have been referred to a special committee with an independent chairman to be mutually agreed upon. The employers were most anxious in the national interest to avoid the disruption of a vital industry, but neverthe less were convinced that under the circumstances they could not accede to the demand to reinstate the offending employee. it was interesting to note that the Wellington Citv Council intended to prosecute the firm for carrying a load which was insecure. This surely would indicate that the dismissed, employee was negligent.