RAILWAYMEN DIVIDED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17459, 1 May 1920, Page 7

RAILWAYMEN DIVIDED.

NO UNITED ACTION.

A.S.R.B. ACCEPT TERMS.

DECISION TO WORK TRAINS. LOCO. MEN MUST STAND ALONE. ' (BT TELEGRAPH.-OWN CORBKSrONDEKT.) WELLINGTON. Friday. A resolution having u> important bearing on the strike has bee., carried by the Transport Workers' Advw.-rj Board. It j runs: i "That in view of the communications forwarded by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servant to the executive of the Enginedrivers, Firemen and Cleaners' Association on April 29, 1920, and the replies received from the locomotive mens association on the same date, this , meeting of the Transport Workers Advisory Board endorses the action of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants in negotiating for a serrate settlement, a s we recognise that in view of the correspondence received from the secret* of the Enginedrivers, Firemen ai'-J Cleaners Association they had no other alternative. Further, this me .-ting of transport workers regrets that the executive of the Enginedrivers, Firemen and Cleaners' Association refused to endorse the request made by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants for joint action by the two societies to effect a settlement of the railway dispute." The meaning of this resolution must be that the advisory board of the largest labour organisation in the country washes its hands of the locomotive men. Revival of Old Feud. All this arises from the feud which has existed between the Amalgamat i Society of Railway Servants and the iDComot.ivo men's society since this sDrtety was formed many years ago by the session of ' a number of the locomotive men from the ' large society. Since then tho locomotive ', men have nearly all joined up with the . new body, but for many years a considerabla number of them remained ' in the Amalgamated Society of Railway ! ! Servants. At the time that the locomo-J i tive men seceded the reason given for the! ■ I action taken was that the engine men > I were not getting justice, from the largo > society when negotiations, with the mail>|.igemc"nt were conducted for increases of 11 pay and betterment of conditions. There - J haft been intense jealously between Urn 1 I two bodies ever since and «ach has striven I I to ensure that its members do nut sutler - I by comparison with members of the oppo--1 sition society. In this strike the locomor tive men would not hear of joint action 9 with the Amalgamated Society of Rail--9 wav Sen-ants although the Amalgamate! Society of Railway Servants asked lor 1 ; this for the first time probably since s | there had been iwo societies. The locov motive men regarded the strike as their 1 affair and insisted on dealing with it in their own wav. Now the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants belong to the Transport Workers' Federation and tho federation took some interest 111 this strike.

Little Courtesy Shown. When an official of the Transport Federation waited on the locomotive men's executive he was told with but little ceremony .to mind his own business. The meaning of the action of the Amalgamated Society of ilailway Sen-ants' executive in declaring the strike of! is that the executive instructs its members to return to f.uty. If they refuse to do go that is their own affair, to be settled by themselves -with the Department. They are no longer to look for support from the executive in staying out in sympathy with the locomotive men. Th does not mean they are commanded to do the locomotive men's work, but they must remain on duty to do their own work in comiect;on with any trains that may be run. It, i is quite certain that trains will be run. A beginning v ill be made to-day. At the meeting of the Thorndon branch today statements were freely made by members present that they would work trains whoever they were manned by. A state-' | ment of this sort must mean that the locomotive men have completely alienated the support of their fellow workers In other branches of the service. A few days ago they had the most enthusiastic support of these same workers. It is understood that it will not be at rill impossible to get engine crews for a few trains.