U.S. LABOUR CRISIS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 93, 3 April 1934, Page 11

U.S. LABOUR CRISIS

Epidemic of Small Strikes RAILWAY WAGES DEADLOCK NEW YORK, March 30. The long and vexing labour situation in the soft-coal industry apparently has been solved with the granting to 350,000 miners of a five-day, 40-hour week and a basic-pay increase. The epidemic of small strikes continues, but the N.R.A. is using the utmost pressure to settle strikes as soon as possible. The railway wage negotiations are still deadlocked, with the Federal coordinator, Mr Eastman, announcing to-day that neither side was willing to compromise. He is returning the matter to the President lor personal arbitration.

Two ot America’s largest corporations, United States Steel and General Electric, to-day announced general 10per cent wage increases, to be effective from April 1, to about 200,000 workers. N.R.A. PRICE-FIXING UPHELD NEW YORK, March 31. The Federal Court to-day upheld price-fixing by N.R.A. code as constitutional, which is another important step in the judicial interpretation of the recovery programme. A clothes cleaner accused of charging rates below those stipulated entered a plea that the N.R.A. had no right to fix prices. In denying the contention the Court allowed 10 days for appeal, this indicating that the case will probably go to the Supreme Court for final decision.