TURNING AGAIN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26045, 8 January 1946, Page 5

TURNING AGAIN

WHEELS OF INDUSTRY STATE STRIKES ENDED A HITCH AT LYSAGHT'S (Rec. 10 p.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 7. Nearly half a. million people went back to work to-day when the wheels of New South Wales industry began turning after more than one month's enforced idleness. For 50,000 others there will be no work for several weeks because their firms cannot reabsorb them until production is in full swing. About 7000 of the 13,000 striking steel workers resumed this morning. The remainder will be absorbed as the mills start production in the next 10 days. The hardest hit by the hold-up was the metal trade, in which it is officially estimated that 10,000 employees could not be re-employed for some weeks because of a shortage of steel stock. The refrigerator, motor body and tinware industries are also seriously affected by the lack of basic steel supplies. The arrears of work in clothing, textile and boot factories and the like will take months to overtake. Food manufacturing industries started to-day on a full production basis and all city stores resumed normal trading hours. Suburban electric train services are again running to normal time tables. The only industrial black spots now are at Port Kembla and Newcastle, where 900 employees of Lysaght’s have refused to resume duty because of a dispute with the management over the terrps of resumption. The dispute on the Greek ore ship Theafano Livanos, which threatened to hold up unloading at Broken Hill Proprietary, Newcastle, is expected to be settled later to-day, said the Minister of Supply and Shipping, Senator W. P. Ashley.

A previous message stated that about 900 steel workers had been instructed by their union leaders not to report for work at the plants of Lysaght’s because the management had decided to engage them as new employees. The union leaders said this would mean that the men would lose their longservice privileges. There would probably also be a delay at the Broken Hill Proprietary works at Newcastle unless a Greek steamer was moved from the iron-ore unloading berth or the crew made it possible for the iron ore cargo to be unloaded. The crew of the steamer Theofano Livanos have been on strike for the past 10 weeks. They are now demanding pay plus overtime money for the period they have been on strike. The Greek steamer is one of 12 vessels in Newcastle harbour with cargoes totalling about 90,000 tons of iron ore for the Broken Hill Proprietary works. The other vessels cannot discharge their cargoes until the Greek steamer is moved from the berth, ..