The Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1920. THE STEWARDS’ HOLIDAY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16307, 23 December 1920, Page 6

The Star. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1920. THE STEWARDS’ HOLIDAY.

The stewards on the ferry steamer Maori found that their grievances were so oppressive that they could not wait for any relief which the Arbitration Court might afford. They gave the necessary notice of tho termination of their engagements, thus bringing about tho practical effects of a strike. Up to tho present tho running of the ferry service has not been affected, as tbo seamen and firemen have upt boon called upon to tako sympathetic action. Tho position is a delicate one, and the outlook is not precisely comforting. Tho stewards have taken the natural course, from their point of view, of striking at a time when their services are most in demand. The more inconvenience and Joss a strike can cause the more effective it is likely to he from the point of view of the striker. Tho interests of tho so far from being considered, become a pawn in the game, and tho more completely they can bo flouted the better the striker is pleased. The stewards, it must bo confessed, have put themselves out of court by their precipitate action. They put their case for tbo £2 bonus before the Arbitration Court, and they ahoulcf have waited for tho judgment to be given. Their impatjiench may have very? gjfavo consequences, especially at a time when industrial unrest .is so prevalent. Threats of “drastic action” are coming from more than one quarter, and strikes are a very infections form of argument.