LABOUR DIFFICULTIES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1717, 25 January 1905, Page 20

LABOUR DIFFICULTIES.

BERLIN, January 17. The Kaiser has sent a Commission to investigate the strike of seventy thousand miners in Westphalia, and arrange a compromise. The mine-owners have definitely rejected the men’s demands. Owing to the refusal of the German mineownors to discuss their demands, the labour leaders have ordered a general strike in the Ruhr district of 'Westphalia. The strike affects a quartei of a million men. A regiment has been ordered to the spot. BERLIN, January 18. Up to the present 154,000 workers, who were employed at 202 Westphalian coalpits have ©truck work. BERLIN, January 19. The strikers at Dortmund, in Westphalia, terrorised non-unionists, and stoned the police, who used their swords. There are ten thousand, additional strikers in Westphalia. BERLIN, January 20. The Ivaiser is energetically trying to settle the Westphalian strike. LONDON, January 18.

There are a hundred and seventy-five thousand strikers in the Westphalian mines. Coal at New castle-on-Tyn e is a shilling a ton higher. The freight market has also advanced. ST. PETERSBURG, January 18. The manager of F'ttiloff’s works, where a large number of employees struck work owing to the dismissal of unionists, has undertaken to inquire' into the matter if the strikers resume work. Owing to concessions being made by the masters, the strike of oil-workers at Baku has almost ended. ST. PETERSBURG, January 18. Twelve thousand shipbuilders in the Russian Government yards have joined the strikers at Putiloff’s works. The strikers have stopped the completing of gunboats and submarines. There are now fifty thousand strikers at St. Petersburg. Sixty thousand strikers at St. Petersburg, under the leadership of a priest named Garpon, are claiming an eight hours day, and formulating a scheme of political reforms exceeding those asked by the recent conference of zemstvos. The military are concentrating on the capital. ST. PETERSBURG, January 19. Ten thousand additional men have joined the strikers at St. Petersburg, including seven thousand ropemakers. Special precautions are being taken around the palaces. The Putiloff works chiefly make guns and railway carriages. A strike has occurred at the metal works at Gbukhoff (twenty-seven miles south of Kieff), also the property of the Government. The railway employees at W arsaw are also joining the steelworkers’ strike. ST. PETERSBURG, January 20. The employers rejected the demands of the strikers for an eight hours’ day, participation of workmen in the management of the works, and payment ot wages during the currency of the Many fear that 400,000 will he involved in a few days. PARIS, January 19. The dockers at Brest have struck, owing to the employment of non-union-ists. PARIS, January 20. The Brest strikers sacked one of the doeks and attacked and pillaged some steamers, one of which was British. NEW YORK, January 19. Mutual concessions have terminated the protracted strike of thirty thousand cotton operatives at Massachusetts. The direct losses are estimated at £1,000,000 sterling. SYDNEY, January 17. The Attorney-General has submitted a proposal to representatives of the mineowners and employees urging them, in the public interest, to secure a resumption of work to-morrow, conditional on the Arbitration Court sitting at Newcastle immediately to mquire into the dispute. The hearing of summonses against the wheelers has been postponed till Thursday. SYDNEY, January 18. The coal-owners have signified that they are prepared to resume work a. once, hut the miners require tome to

take a referendum on the AttorneyGeneral’s proposal. This will occupy several days. The hearing of the cases against the Newcastle wheelers has been postponed on the application of the Crown till Friday. Counsel for the wheelers intimated that h© intended to reruse to plead, and so raise the question of jurisdiction. The general' situation remains unchanged. The officials of the Etnployees’ Federation meet to-morrow to discuss the Attorney-General’s proposal to resume work. It is rumoured they will submit a proposal to the Miners’ Delegate Boards, which, if adopted, will settle the strike in twenty-four hours. The opinion is expressed that the only possible way to achieve this will be for the miners to decline to support the striking wheelers, and this is improbable. SYDNEY, January 19. At a meeting of the Miners’ Federation delegates at Newcastle it was decided to ask the coal-owners to* meet representatives of the miners and wheelers in open conference as early as possible. At a meeting of wheelers it was decided to return to work if the reduction m wages is made five per cent, instead of ten per cent., against which the wheelers struck. A meeting of coal-owners is to he held in Sydney to-morrow, to discuss the miners’ and wheelers’ offers, and other matters. The wheelers are offering to accept a 5 per cent, reduction. They stipulate that the matter shall come before tne Arbitration Court within three weeks. There are twenty-five foreign vessels at Newcastle awaiting coal. SYDNEY, January 20. The opinion is expressed that unless the men are prepared to resume work on the coal-owners’ terms the conference will he unavailing. A meeting of the Associated Colliery Proprietors discussed the miners request for an open conference, and the offer of the wheelers to accept a five per cent, reduction of wages. It was decided to decline to grant the requests on the grounds that the proprietors had already taken the steps sanctioned bj the Arbitration Court, and under the circumstances they could not vary the conditions they had notified to the wheelers. This moans that the proprietors will not grant any concessions in wages and rates. Saunders, one of the wheelers wno struck at the Newcastle Company’s pit, was charged, at the Court at Newcastle with a breach of the strike clauses of the Arbitration Act. He was committed for trial, bail being allowed. No other cases were taken, pending developments. The bulk were held over until Monday. The wheelers are greatly disappointed at the owners’ decision, and declare they will now fight to the bitter end. The wheelers at Back Creek Colliery worked out a fortnight’s notice. New wheelers then replaced them, hut the miners declined to work with the newcomers, and the pit was thrown idle.