IN AMERICA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 5 March 1912, Page 5

IN AMERICA.

ARGENTINE RAILWAYMEN STRIKE. AGAINST LONG HOURS. Writing under date January 6th, the Bunenos Ay res correspondent of the Ciiristchurch Press says:—"At the moment we are suffering from a strike amongst the railway men. For over three years the drivers and firemen here have been petitioning for' better conditions, but the railway companies, backed by the loaded rifles of their hoi-de of half-bred Indian troops, have turned a deaf ear to the requests. The men complain of the long spells they are called upon to perform on the footplates, spells of twelve, fourteen, sixteen, and even twenty-four hours' continuous service being of weekly occurrence. They declare that spells like these, even if followed by equal -hours of rest, are mor® than the human frame can stand. Some of the railways have a system by which men, after twenty years' service, are entitled to a pension. That men who are within a year of obtaining their pension should strike with the rest shows that there is something wrong. There is- a very shrewd suspicion that the management of various railways here followed a deliberate line of action laid down bv the London directorates with the specific object of getting rid of some 80iD to 1000 drivers who would become entitled to pensions during the next three or four years. There can be no reasonable doubt th.it the drivers will jn the end be beaten. In fact, quite a number of the English-speaking drivers reccgriise this, and have already taken steps to get out of the country. The Government has taken a very active part against the Enginedrivers' and Firemen's Society. It has refused the men permission to hold meetings, and supplies drivers where possible from the engineers in the navy and firemen from the conscripts. The stations, goodssheds and line are all guarded bv troops. It is feared that this strike may be but the forerunner of a general labour upheaval throughout the republic. If that upheaval comes, the Argentine is in for a very bad time.