STRIKE PROBABLE.

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18625, 3 May 1932, Page 7

STRIKE PROBABLE.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS. CHRISTCHURCH TRAMWAYS AOTION BY THE BOARD. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Monday. The Tramway Board inserted an advertisement in the newspapers today inviting applications for volunteers willing to accept employment under existing conditions, in the etent of a ■strike on Wednesday. The positions to be Ailed include motormen, conductors, and bus drivers. FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT. STRIKE CONSIDERED CERTAIN. MEN SAID TO BE FIRM. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Tuesday. The tramwaymen and the board have still failed to reach an agreement, and a tram strike to-morrow appears certain. ... , “ Strike or no strike, there wul be a service to-morrow,” declared the board officials. Fifty applications have been received from volunteers, many of ..vhorn are said io be competent. “ There is no truth in the allegation that the Tramway Board would welcome a strike as a means of crushing the union,” declared Mr E. H. Andrews, chairman of the board. “We recognise the men’s right to have a union, but we do not recognise their right to tell the board how to run the trams.” If there is a strike to-morrow, officials state, the service will of necessity be a shortened one, and details as to the timetable will be published at the earliest possible moment. Men Reported Firm. Union officials state that the men are firm, and are not alarmed by the board’s threats. The board will meet the Mayor and depuLy-Mayor this afternoon to discuss the situation, which is causing a certain amount of anxiety in view oi the possibility of the trouble spreading. It was reported at noon that a section of the men show' signs of weakening, and that this is the reason why the Mayor is intervening in the dispute, having been asked to interviewthe board, with a view to re-opening negotiations so that a settlement can be reached. Will Not Hand In Equipment. On the other hand union officials say that, the revoking of the decision to strike was not even considered at a meeting of the men this morning, and that the men who go out will not hand in their equipment this evening, «s demanded by the board.