FINNISH ARMY ALERTED TO CHECK STRIKE PICKETS

Grey River Argus, 22 August 1949, Page 3

FINNISH ARMY ALERTED TO CHECK STRIKE PICKETS

HELSINKI. August 20

On Friday the Finnish Army was ordered to be ready for action against pickets molesting men and women obeying the Government’s return to work” appeal. Reinforced armed guards were placed over the Aimy arsenals and munition stores. The moderate Social Democrat Government took this step after more workers had joined the Communist strike movement for higher pay and new disorders had broken out 1 at the lumber centre of Kemi, where one striker was killed and six were injured in a fight betwen police anti pickets yesterday. . Seventeen people, including the Mayor were arrested in a raid early tri-dav on the Communist Party s headquarters at Kemi. Five hundred troops with full field equipment, aie encamped around the town with orders to suppress disorders immediately. ~ , Acting on instructions from the Ministry of the Interior, the police are seaching houses for suspected hidden arms. A few hours after the Army was alerted for action to-day the Finnish Trades Union Federation threatened the four Communist-led unions with expulsion unless their striking members returned to work by next Wednesday. The unions threatened aie the Transport. Provision, Forestry and Timber Floaters’ Union. Lumberjacks, timber floaters ancplumbers to-da v pointed the wave of Communist-led strikes.. The plumbers’ strike is a total one. but hewing and floating are proceeding normally in a number of important timber areas. At Kemi, half the floaters are at work. Five hundred soldiers and a reinforced police force are protecting the workers from strike pickets.