N.S.W. ARBITRATION COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13859, 23 March 1907, Page 9

N.S.W. ARBITRATION COURT

' iCOAL LUMPERS' AWARD., PREFERENCE TO UNIONISTS .WITHDRAWN, Press Association—Bj Telegraph—Copyright, SYDNEY, March 22. (Received March 23, at 0.33 a.m.) Recently coaling steamers have beeit hampered owing to numbers of coal lumpers declining to work on Saturday arternoons. Tlie Steam Collier Owners' and Coat Stevedores' Associations applied to the Arbitration Court to amend the award so as to require lumpers to work whenever required, excepting between midnight on Saturday and midnight on Sunday; also that employers be relieved from the obligation of employing unionists. The president, in granting the withdrawal of preference from the union, said the-men had clearly disregarded the intention of tl|e award, and the employers should be relieved of the hampering provision of preferesio to unionists which prevented employers to a great extent from defending themselves. Another member of the court declared that the men had taken a very wrong stand in not accepting the offer of the court to hold a conference with the employers. They should make every effort 16 arrive at an agreement before takiijg extreme steps. He strongly urged them to again consider the question of a conference. The president, promised to give a decision in regard to the other requests of the owners to-morrow.