THE ENGINEDRIVERS' CASE.

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

THE ENGINEDRIVERS' CASE.

REASONS FOR DEADLOCK.

SECRETARY'S STATEMENT.

REPL\ BY MR. MASSEY.

"UNFAIR CONCESSIONS ASKED." [by TELEGRAPH.-O<VX CORRESPONDENT.] "WELLINGTON. Friday. "The executive of the Enginedrivers, Firemen, and Cleaners' Association is firm in its ittitude," said the secretary, Mr. W. McArley. to-night. "We have made claims thai, we consider to be fair and just. We consider that, failing a settlement 01 the lines that we have suggested, the alternative is for the Government to go througl the schedule of wages and conditions point by point and arrive at a 6ettlem :nt,

"Wo are aruiaus to bring the dispute to a speedy settlement, and with that end in view wc were prepared to accept the conciliatior. commission proposed by Mr. Massey. If we are to go through wages and condition* item by item it will take a cons.derable time and prolong, the dispute. We met the Prime Minister today in wh.ii we consider to be a fair way. We ga?e in to him on a good many points, or at least wo considered we did, and when vo asked him to concede ono point he would not do it. That is where we stand to-night." Mr. McArley added that the conference between the Prime Minister and the execu live ol the Enginedrivors, Firemen, and Cleaneis' Association had broken completely, and no proposal had yet been made for its resumption. He could not tell what the future developments would be. The statement of Mr. McArley was referred to the Prime Minister to night. Mr. Massey's reply to the declaration that th 9 locomotive men had given way on several points and that he had refused to gi\e way on the one concession asked of him was as follows:— "Ail I can say is this, that the points they lire supposed to have conceded were of no value at all. What really happened was that with the assistance of Sir Francis Bell I simply straightened up their language and ideas, put them in workable form, in which shape I was prepared to accept them. I offered to Mr. McArley and his friends practically the I same conditions which the other branches lof the service had accepted. He asked I for oilier concessions, which I found it 1 npossible to grant. The granting of the concessions to the locomotive men would have been grossly unfair to the other railway men, and to other branches of the public service."