Australian Minorities Cling To Direct Action

Chronicle (Levin), 10 January 1948, Page 5

Australian Minorities Cling To Direct Action

# Reegived 1- riday, 7 p.m. ' ^an. 9. .JiQpes that 194s wuuru usner m an era oj pgage m xndustrw nave ueeu ^natiercal uy tt\o strrJvt-s, anueU Uit'ecU^ at uie cojnrorl aua Weii-bcnig or iiw vitizensi oi Australia s two larggsi cxties. 5\ lule resxuems ox wleiDournx pxoU to arnl irom tneir empxo\ nicxxi, ox0.sc bycurey ixouselioiUs aie prvparin0 to aijgiiuon a meai Uiet. In acutuxun, slxxp paxiuers aml docners througnutu -A.iisj.nUia • xire ttireaieiung to sxrxic*.orom next ^londay, aua other unuixie Jtre seetiiing witn disconteiit. The XiiDimji.sc stxuues tai-cen last yeai in tlie betternient ot workuig condr Lions seenged to indica*te a penod ox unproved xndxistriat relations, for the good reason tnat all but a fanatic mxnority oi tlxe work-ers seemed to imVi. xxttle left to ask for. At the end oi ivJ47 a new streainlined Commouwealti. arbitration system, ixx close conforuiity with union desires, was working sniootlily. The coatniiners had reacheu a recoru output wlthout a xnajor dispute for soiii'e montlis, and the 4o-hour week was assured. Wage-])egging had oeen abulished, tax concessxons hau consistenlly favoured the lower xiieomes, and there were i nnunreraijle sectional gains to the beuelit of ltundreds of thousands of workers. Only two xiiain causes of unresl have been left, but tliosg, two nxay nullify Ihe progr-ess made since the end of the war. The iirst of tliese is the fact that tiiough the universal 40 hour week has been approved, the working of this week has been 1-eft to the iiulustries. This would not be a serious impediment to industrial harniony if it were not for the second lacl — "direct action" methods. Potli the 5Ielbourne tram drivvrs and the Sydney abattoir eintjJoyees have chosen direct action in preference to an appeal to the full bencli of tlie lndnstrial Fommission. in neither case has tlie new conciliation system been allowed a chance to oxierate. 'liie bwlney slrike comes solely from the dissatisract lon of 100 eiuployees with an iuterim awanl whieh conlci easily have been ehallenged. In 51eibotirne the Tramways Uoard has admitted from ihe beginning that a shorter week shuuld be worked an live days, and that there sliould be time for a readjustment of tlie rosters. The sole differenee uetween tlu* parties is tlxe trivial oue of whether during the adjustment period the benelits of the 4(ihour week siiould be given in overtime payments or shorter hours. It seems that, armed as tliey are with tlie latest weapons in industrial coiu'iliation, some unions are prepared to discaril thexn in favour of tlre club.