More Strife In Australia

Chronicle (Levin), 8 October 1946, Page 5

More Strife In Australia

(Special Australian Corf.espondent.;

TROUBLEMAKERS AT WQM ,

Received Monday, 7 p.m. SYDNEY, Oct. 7. The sudden outburst of industrial unrest whieh pow threatens production in Vietoria and New South Wales, indicates all too jilamly that the Left wing troublcmakers have kept a caleulating eyc cocked on the el,ection returns. To tliem the Labo.ur victory has given an-; Other sort of mandate. They belieye that industrial lawlessness which has eharaeterised Australian production for1 Ihe past year and more will continue,. that wage pegging regulati.ons are there merely to be overrun, and that the de-; cisio'ns of the Arbitration Court may b,e disregarded because there are no pros peets of their being backed by Govern mental force. hlost of the unions in the heavy in dustries group luive combined in a de rnand i'or a rise of £1 weekly in. the basie wage. Others have b.egun a vig orous campaign for the abolition of iSaturday work. These issues are legi vlimate enough in themselves but both are backed by the threat of force. All Victorian trains and most trams ceased running at 1.30 a.m. today for 2-1 hours as a display of strength on the wages issue, despito the fact that the stoppage was not authorised by the Trades Hall disputes eommittee. This automaticallv causes discomfort and loss of time to hundreds of thousands of workers. Tramway employees, demanding a 371 liour week, have cut olf oil supplies to the Brokenhill mines, threatening complete closure througli lack ox power within a week'. Atelbourne gas employees have giv.en the management ten days in which to grant Union claims. Other Unions are considering the 24 Jiour strike weapon which they consider as higlily efficient as it always worked in the past. The ironworkers, whose Union is one of the most militant in Australia, are deterinined to press their claims for in creased wages despite the fact that these claims have already been ruled illcgul by tlie Arbitration Court. In Melbourne the irqnfounders ' section of the Chamber of Conunerce is resolved to (iglit the claims. I11 New 8outh Wales tlie employers have taken the bold decision to counterattack with the only weapon they possess. Next Friday 4500 workers in 79 foundries will receive a week's notice. Tlie foundries will close 011 October 18 unless illegal disputes in three foundries are tenninated. This is tlie latest development in the sniping struggle in which the ironworkers de veloped tlie teclmique of making de inantLs and walking out wlien tlie court ruled them illegal, agd declaring the job black. Meanwhile white collar workers have received an adverse court decision 011 tlie practicability of the abolition oi Saturday work but the No Saturdax Work eommittee representing 13 Un ions with a total membership of 80,000 is taking tlie case to the Government. Sydney watersiders, however, have taken the law into their own hands by refusiug to take calls on Salurdays. L'hey are supported by the clerks who, 011 their own belialf, have banued the loading of 40,000 bales of wool iutu uverseas sliips. Both these issues are expected to provoke trouble later in the week.