WAVE OF STRIKES IN VICTORIA: PROMPT TALK OF “,,SHOWDOWN”,,!

Grey River Argus, 17 April 1947, Page 5

WAVE OF STRIKES IN VICTORIA: PROMPT TALK OF “,,SHOWDOWN”,,!

(Rec. 9.50). MELBOURNE, April 16. Strikes have caused electric train, power, gas and other restrictions and stoppages. The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Mr. Connelly, said that .it was probably that the liner Orion would have to leave for Britain without taking all the food which was stacked on the Melbourne wharves. “I will issue a final warning,” he said. “Unless these agitators are prepared to listen to their Parliamentary leaders, I cannot hold back various people who are coming to me wanting me to organise protest meetings and to organise voluntary labour to take over. The fight, is on! Let us have a showdown, and the sooner the better.”

The Railway Commissioners stopped all metropolitan electric train services following the extension of the metal trades dispute to the railway power house, where 100 engineers were 'called out on strike by the Amalgamated Engineering Union.

The electric ■ trains normally carry several hundred thousand passengers to and from work daily. These people now have to find other means of transport, and this is placing a heavy burden on the trams, but emergency bus- services are helping. Waterside workers decided to hold a 24-hour stoppage to consider whether they would use emergency transport to get to work- This delayed the unloading of a collier and gas rationing was immediately introduced. (Rec. 11.50) MELBOURNE, Apr. 16. All four Melbourne dailies are being published under emergency conditions, following a strike by members of the Printers’ Operatives’ Union employed in the publishing and machine rooms. The strike action is taken by the Union members to enforce a claim that they are entitled to a seven shillings basic wage rise granted recently by the Arbitration Court. All four dailies are continuing to publish, but are down in size to the equivalent of four broad sheet pages. The city was without-..suburban electric trains for the third consecutive day. The tram services have been cut by half during the off peak hours. Pickets have stopped many suburban buses from running to the city. The gas rationing has been extended till at least Friday. The weather, in Melbourne is cold and wet, and there are many absentees from city businesses. Members of the Building Trades Employees’ Federation working at the Yallourn powerhouse were called out on strike at noon to-day, offering a further threat to the power supplies.