WATERSIDERS AND JOINT CONTROL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 3 December 1927, Page 7

WATERSIDERS AND JOINT CONTROL

(Received 3rd December, noon) ] . ; , , „'. MELBOURNE;, This Day. The shipowners decided that if the dispute was not speedily settled, a number of steamers at present tied up shall sail without discharging or loading cargo. At a conference of representatives of the Seamen's Union, with the management committee of watersiders, the seamen'urged that there should be joint control of the dispute and that ..other organisations whose members were already involved, should immediately be consulted' before the strike developed further and thousands of other unionists idled. Since the beginning of the strike the watersiders have adopted the attitude that it did not want intervention by other organisations, but this policy has relaxed in the last few days and after their conferring with the Australian and New Zealand council of Trades Unions, the latter in an official statements says that the' council is taking steps to infervene with a view to arriving at a settlement of tlje dispute, and is endeavouring to induce the Arbitration Court to move in the matter. , Plans are also formulating for convening an inter-State conference of all unions concerned, and there is also .a probability that the Federal Ministry will bo approached with a view to eliciting its assistance. It is contended that the Arbitration Court is now faced with a imuchi more serious position than it was when tho dispute was only betweeh the shipowners and watersiders, because practically every federated union is now either directly or indirectly affected, and 11 Wit aspect has made it absolutely imperative that the Court which was the recognised authority for tho settlement of disputes should intervene without further delay. It is therefore suggested that the Court call a compulsory conference, of the parties to the dispute.