PLAYING WAITING GAME

Chronicle (Levin), 5 July 1949, Page 5

PLAYING WAITING GAME

Signs Of Move Within Unions To End Cea! Strike Received Tuesday, 11.10 a.m. SYDNEY, July 5. The New South Wales and Federal Governments are now prgparing to wait for ipside " pressure within the mining "unions to end the strike. There are signs that such a move -may be made in th'e near future. According to the Npwcasfje correspondent of the Sydney 'Morning Herald, njining union circles expect an early mpve to call aggregate meetings of miners to reconsider their decision to call the general strike. They expect that before Thursday a move will be made by some members of* the Combined Mining Unions' Council to call such meetings. Talks between members of tl}ke Australian Labour Party exgcutiyp and the anti-Communist members of the Miners' Central Council have been going on secretly for two- c^ay^.. Important Moves Expected. Important developments are expected as a result of a visit to the northern coalfields by three Lab= our leaders. Union officiajs claim that at the' aggregate meetings which declarecl for the strike, and at ivhich less than one-third of the miners voted, many were influenced by the belief that there would be a last-minute sel tiement of the claims.' One official said: "The majority, who stayed away, did not foresee the far-reaching effects of the stoppage of employment in other industries, nor did they anticipatf such solid opposition from ' ihe. Labour Party and other trade , unions." Determination Reaffirmed. A Pederal Cabinet meeting which lasted until late last night feachpd no decis'on except a genpral a'greenmnt that the effect of the emergency legis.'ation should be watched for another two days. The New South Wales Cabinet reaffirmed its determinatipn that the strike must be settled by arbitration and gave the Premier, Mr. McGirr. a free hand to. deal with the crisis. • ' Outside the Cabinet, the Minister of Mines, Mr. J. M. Baddeley, himseif • a former president of the Mmers' Federation, said he had no clouht from observations on tlie northern coalfields that a* very fieat percentage of mine worhers and their families were' not now in favour of the strike.