FIGHT FOR COAL

Grey River Argus, 13 August 1946, Page 5

FIGHT FOR COAL

N.S.W. RAILWAYMEN

THREATEN TO BOYCOTT STEEL

COMPANY

SYDNEY, August 12. Drastic action is threatened by locomotive enginemen in an attempt to force the Government to allot more coal to the Railways Department. They say that if this is not done they will refuse to haul coal to the works' cf the Broken Hill Proprietary. State transport oQicials and representatives of the Master Carriers’ Association will meet this week to consider a plan for co-ordinated road and rail transport.

The enginemen are demanding that the coal available to the Broken Hill Proprietary and the railways systems should be on the basis of the amounts allowed in 1944.

The restricted transport because of the coal shortage is causing unemployment in other industries, particularly house building and is threatening unemployment in others. About 200 • employees of the Public Works Department, who had been working on the construction of homes for the Housing Commission, have been dismissed because of the shortage of housing materials. The department expects to dismiss another 250 men next week and another 1550 within the next month. Five hundred road transport employees and thousands of timber workers mays lose their jobs. The Transport Workers'’ Union has urged the State Government to co-ordinate all rail and road transport to save the men’s jobs.