NORMAL RUNNING.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 9

NORMAL RUNNING.

Last Trams will Leave at 11.10 To-night. EX-STRIKERS BACK AT WORK. Normal running was resumed in the tramway timetable to-day, and the last cars will leave Cathedral Square at 11.10 to-night. This is the first time since Tuesday, May 3, that the service has been normal in all respects. The convenience of the public has been the board’s first consideration since the strike was declared off, and now that the members of the union are returning to work all reminders of the strike are gradually being effaced. The wire mesh that was placed over the windows of the cars during the period of the strike is being removed as quickly as possible, and the barbed wire fence at the entrance to the depot in Moorhouse Avenue will soon be only a memory. Not the slightest trouble has been experienced by the authorities since the strike came to an end. In the operation of the timetable the roster under which the traffic men work is already on practically a normal basis. The new men are working on the trams during the day and members of the union who have returned to work have been assigned to the night trips. The object of putting ex-strikers on the cars during the hours of darkness is to inspire the public with a feeling of security against any interference with the trams. Selection of Union Men. The men whose selection for return to work is being delayed will not be prejudiced when the final choice of union men is made, an official of the board stated this morning. He explained that it was not possible to make a permanent selection at once, and the fact that certain men were not taken back immediately would not prejudice their chances of returning to their old jobs. So far none of the men in the engineering department who went out on strike have returned to work, but they will be back by to-morrow. The exstrikers on the night shift will resume work at eleven o’clock to-night, and the remainder will begin to-morrow morning. Police precautions against disorder will not be relaxed in the meantime. POSmON OF PRESIDENT. Reference to the reservation he had made in applying for reinstatement as an employee of the Tramway Board was made this morning by Mr J. Mathison, president of the Tramway Employees’ Union. He said that he was dismissed along with eleven other men, and he had declared that he would not go back to work till the other men did so. On his application form he had simply stated that he would stand down in the meantime in favour of others. He considered that his attitude was only fair in view of the fact that members of the union had struck to support his case and that of other men. An advertisement inserted by the Tramway Employees’ Union to-dav thanks the many organisations and individuals who have rendered valuable assistance to the tramwaymen and the union during the recent trouble. A UNION’S ATTITUDE. At a meeting of the Canterbury Drivers’ Union held recently the following resolution was carried: “ That, the Drivers’ Union will support the Tramways Union in its fight against injustices to its members, and asks all members of the Drivers’ Union and their families to refrain from using the trams until such times as all the members of the Tramways Union are reinstated.” ASSISTING DEPENDENTS. The Labour Defence League is at present taking up subscriptions to assist the dependents of those workers who have been imprisoned for their recent activities in connection with the Tramway strike.