LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 3768, 1 June 1926, Page 33

LABOUR IN AUSTRALIA.

HOURS OF WORK DISPUTE. SYDNEY, May 28. A meeting of the Metal Trades Employers’ Association decided to accept the Trades Hall Disputes Committee’s offer fo*r a settlement of the dispute, thus ending the 44-hours strike, which rendered idle 30,000 employees. A mass meeting of the men will be held on Saturday to ratify the committee’s action. Many of the owners were against accepting the men’s offer but after a heated discussion it was accepted by a narrow majority. The Disputes Committee made an offer that the employees, without prejudice to the employers’ privileges under the Federal awards, should resume on terms of a 44-hours’ week, to be worked either in five or six days as required by the employer and be paid for on the time worked only. The Disputes Committee is to give an undertaking that no demand for increased wages will be made until the newly Constituted Federal Court deals with the matter. The restrictions on overtime and shift work are to be removed and overtime and shifts are to be worked as required by the employer. BOTH SIDES CLAIM VICTORY. SYDNEY, May 29. Both sides in the 44-hour dispute claim the*victory. The conditions of the settlement, however, show that each party has made liberal concessions in the interests of peace. Although the employers have agreed that the men shall work 44 hours for 44 hours’ pay the settlement does not involve no Saturday work. The employers •are allowed to work employees on Satur day, if they should desire. The unions believe that they will be able to obtain from the Commonwealth Arbitration Court the rate of wages that they pre viously enjoyed, for 48 hours' work. It is estimated that the strikers lost £176,000 in wages during the four weeks that the strike was in progress. COAL STOCKS DWINDLING. SYDNEY, May 26. The coal supplies are rapidly dwindling, and at the end of next week the stocks for overseas, inter State and coastal shipping will be exhausted. Negotiafions for a settlement of the strike at several of the collieries are progressing and d is expected that at least three mines will lesume to-morrow. The Broken Hill Proprietary Steelworks at Newcastle dismissed a number of mechanics who refused to give an undertaking that they would work a 48-hours week. MELBOURNE, May 26. .Five thousand five hundred men are idle in Victoria as a result of the coal strike, involving a loss of £30,000 in wages a week. LIKELY TO BE CALLED OFF. SYDNEY, May 26. It is unofficially stated that when the Federal executive of the Engine-drivers and Firemen’s Union meets to-morrow the strike will be declared off. Tile coal reserves are now so short that there is every likelihood of all the members of the Engine-drivers and Firemen’s Union, numbering about 13,000, being rendered idle. The coal-owners state that so far as they are concerned there is no alteration in the position. TWELVE CARGO STEAMERS HELD UP. SYDNEY, May 26. In addition to the two passenger % steamers affected by the coM strike 12 cargo steamers are held up. In place of the Dimhoola the Adelaide Steamship Co. is using the cargo motor-ship Moomba, which recently arrived in Australian waters. Much importance is attached to the meeting of the General Council of the Engine-drivers and Firemen’s Association to-morrow. THE COALFIELDS TROUBLE. SYDNEY, May 27. The Federal Executive of the Enginedrivers and Firemen’s Union met to consider the coal strike. Union circles anticipate that the meeting will result in the strike being called off. Before this can he done, however, a conference will be held with the miners and an official announcement is not expected to be made before Hie week-end. A message from Melbourne states that the steamship companies have decided to discontinue the passenger services to Western Australia from Monday next unless large supplies of coal are forthcoming. POSITION OF STATE MINERS! SYDNEY, May 28. It is announced on behalf of the strikers at the State coal mine at Lithgow that the men will resume wor'* on the conditions which prevailed before the strike. Application is to be made on behalf of the men employed in the colliery for the Industrial Commissioner to adjudicate on the dispute The men,, numbering between 400 and 500, have notified the Minister of Labour and Industry that they are prepared to abide by the Commissioner’s decision. LITHGOW MINE RESUMES ON MONDAY. SYDNEY, May 28. Work is being resumed in the Lithgow colliery on Monday, and it is evpected that additional mines will resume on similar terms during the next few days. PLIGHT OF MINERS SERIOUS. SYDNEY May 29. Mr Gibion, general secretary of the Engine-drivers and Firemen’s Federation, announced that the strike has been settled

at the Tyldesley Mine, Lithgow, the owners having acceded to the men’s de mands. The colliery hae an output of 500 tons daily. The owners are not members of the Northern Collieries Association. The strike will have been in progress three weeks to-day. During that time the 30,000 miners affected have drawn no wages, as their federation is without relief funds. The plight of the miners is stated to be serious.