BRIGHTER OUTLOOK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18689, 21 April 1924, Page 6

BRIGHTER OUTLOOK.

BAILWAYS DEADLOCK. BASIS FOR NEGOTIATIONS. ANOTHER WAGES BOARD. REVIEW OF ALL CLAIMS. AGREEMENT BY CABINET. A.S.R.S CONSENT AWAITED fBT TELEGRAPH.OWN COimESPONDENT.I WELLINGTON. Sunday. In a statement to-day the Prime Minister said a deputation from the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants had •waited upon the Minister for Railways and himself, .and had . asked for another Wages Board. A special meeting of the Cabinet was held, and after a lengthy conference the Cabinet agreed on the main point, that it was willing to give the railwaymen another Wages Board. "But," added Mr. Massey, "there are two points not settled yet. It is riot yet decided who is to he chairman, and it is not yet certain whether the executive of the A.S.R.S. will agree with what has been done. The board is to go into the wages question and other claims of the railwaymen." The Cabinet sat until a late hour on Saturday night, and the A.S.R.S. delegates again meet the Minister for Railways to-morrow morning. It is hoped that a satisfactory basis of negotiation will be reached by mid-day to-morrow. A very critical stage in the crisis was reached and passed on Saturday, and a settlement seems more probable now than at any time since the commencement of negotiations. The high reported percentage of ballot papers in favour of a strike had given the public the impression that the men were almost certain to come out, but the whole trend of events on Saturday bears out the statement of Mr. M. J. Mack, secretary of the A.S.R.S., that every other means of settlement would be resorted to before drastic measures were undertaken to secure acceptance of the men's demands.

Resumption of Negotiations. The outlook at twelve o'clock yesterday was worse than at any time previously, as it was reported that the executive of the A.S.R.S. was almost unanimous in accepting the already evident decision of the strike ballot. Soon after mid-day, however, the president of the society, Mr. M. Connelly, and its secretary, Mr. M. J. Mack, approached the Minister for Railways with fresh proposals to be submitted to the Cabinet. A meeting of the Cabinet, at which the Prime Minister presided, was convened as soon as possible, and shortly after 2.40 p.m. the new proposals of the A.S.R.S. were submitted to the Government. Messrs. Connelly and Mack were admitted as a deputation in support of their proposals. As the hours passed, with a short adjournment for dinner, it became evident that a vital point in the negotiations had been reached, and that the prospects of a basis of settlement were nearer than at any previous conference.

Statement by Minister. At 10 p.m. the Minister for Railways, Hon. J. G. Coates, while making it plain that neither party at that stage desired the publication of its proposals, made the following statement to the waiting pressmen:—"Certain proposals have been made by the president and secretary of the A.S.R.S. through me to the Cabinet. The Cabinet considered them, and then further proposals, which were discussed with the representatives of the A-S.R.S. and will be considered by their executive." It was further stated by the Minister that the delegates of the A.S.R.S. had arranged to meet him again on Monday morning. " I have nothing to report to-day," said Mr. Mack this evening, " but I have every hope that a satisfactory basis of negotiation will be arrived at by midday on Monday. The strike ballot will not be complete to-day, but maybe tomorrow." A Pull Cabinet Meeting. A notable fact of the Cabinet meeting was that every member, 11 in all, was in Wellington. This is most unusual at Easter. It now appears that there is little prospect of an immediate strike. The representatives of the A.S.R.S. are evidently endeavouring to find a way out of the impasse, and with that object will no doubt be quite willing to forego their original demands that wages should be first dealt with, apart from other claims. If a new Wages Board is set up it will no doubt insist that the vfcole of the points under discussion, and not simply the wages question, shall be considered. Owing to the intervening holidays it is plain that such a board cannot b« set up for several days, in which case the Easter holiday-makers will be able to get back to their homes per medium of the railways As a matter of fact, the holiday traffic has made a considerable advance during the past few days, and is better than was expected under the circumstances.