TRANSPORT STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1494, 17 July 1912, Page 7

TRANSPORT STRIKE.

I —.—„ HOPES OF A SETTLEMENT. By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyrieht London, July 15. An interview has taken place between Mr. Gosling, president of the Transport Workers' Federation, and Mr. Orbello, of tho Dockers' Union, and Lord Devonport, chairman of tho Port of Loudon Authority, and has raised hopes of a settlement of the transport strike. As a result, of the interview, the Prime Minister has postponed his promised statement. Owing to an attack by the transport strikers on the Tilbury Railway, troops are guarding the line. ■ Cnptain Tapper, of the Sailors', and Firemen's Union, asserts that the transport workers are incensed at the nonnnionists carrying firearms. They arc now selling the remnants of their furni--ture to purchase weapons. Many women and. children were trampled upon at tho strikers' Hyde Park demonstration in the stampede following the baton charges of trie police. They were treated at hastily improvised hospital camps. Mr. George Lansbury, Labour M.P. for Tower Hamlets, was roughly handled. Several of the rioters have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment up to two months.

DEMAND FOR REINSTATEMENT ■: WAIVED. (Rec. July 16, 10.55 p.m.) ■' London, July 16. .The Strike Committee is waiving its demand for tho reinstatement of thesemen whose places' have been filled, and has given Messrs. Gosling and Orbell a free hand to proceed with negotiations with Lord Devonport. These were consequently resumed to-dav.

THE PORT AUTHORITY AMD Tlffi' MEN. Tho employers' view of. the transport situation has boon interestingly set out in (lie "Westminster Gazette" by Mr. J. G. Broadbank, chairman of tho Dock Ummitteo of the Port of London Authority. The- men in the employ of tho -y Ol- ' Authority, says Mr Broadbank, undoubtedly occupy an excellent position in the world of labour. "The least efficient man is guaranteed a. miniimmi wage of Jd. an hour, yielding 2Ss. a- week for iorty-eight hours' work. But bv far the greater part of the operations which the Authority undertake at the Docks are carried out unitor a piece-work (femetimes termed plus) system, and the averago earnings of the men while so employed are about 375. a week, as against •ils Gd. a week at Hamburg and 30s. at Antwerp. For many years there have been tiiree grades of workmen The permanent men are paid for all bank holidays. In addition, they get a week's holidav, with pay; they receive half-pay during sickness, and after fifteen, years' service th6y become entitled on retirement- through old age or ill-health to a pension varying from 6s. to 15s a week, according to length of service." This pension is noncontributory." In reviewing the position that led up to the present trouble, ..Mr. Broadbank says: "In July .last anVapplication was received from the .National Transport federation for ■ an improvement in the pay and conditions of employment in the Port. The Authority agreed to discuss the question with the federation, and were able to bring into the conference tho/great ship-owners and the principal wharfingers. Lord Devonport presided at the conference, which occupied four successive days far into every evening, and tho. result was that .011 July 27 an agreement was signed known now as tho Devonport Agreement. The proceedings were perfectly pleasant, notwithstanding the hot weather, and no one who was present will : . forget the demonstrations' of cordiality on the part of Mr. Gosling and the other leaders, and the compliment paid by them that if ployers were only so accessible and reasonable as we had been there would' bo no labour outbreaks., Three dnvs later, these same leaders called out tlie whoio of the men employed in the Port. They denounced, the. agreement which- they had just signed, and induced. 1300 of (ho.Port Authority's men to break their agreements for employment and go out on strike. '-The strike failed, and a further agreement was eventually signed on August 18 continuing the Devonport Agreement, tho leaders undertaking at the same time not to raise any move'questions. The men went back to work, and ■' the. Port Authority reinstated their permanent hands though they hml forfeited their pensions' Three mouths later the question, of the Sea Belle at Marie Brown's wharf was raised by the wharf men suddenly leaving work, and the, strike was extended on November 3 to the .London Docks; whoa .the Port Authority were called upon to discharge that vessel there. Tin's time "50 men broke theiragreements. This case was settled by the men" at Mark Brown's wharf agreeing to discharge the vessel'pending a reference of tho question to arbitration. The Pout Authority forgave the men the infraction of their agreement. This second strike was followed on November 30 by a third one involving 200 men in tho Chief Engineer's Department. These men were working 'under an agreement made,' after months of.negotiation with their various unions through the medium of, Mr. Gosling. Tho Port Authority declined to consider any point whilst the men were on striko, and the men went back to work. Tho striko now proceeding is therefore the fourth in ten months. ' ' "Labour in the Port of London should have every reason to be satisfied with the results to them following upon the appointment of the Authority. Tho total increase of pay to labour in the Port under the Devonport Agreement (which was granted without a strike) amounts to more than ,£200,000 per annum. The Authority have granted other increases of pay amounting to ,£30,000 per annum; they are employing labour on special maintenance entailing an expenditure of about ~£200,00 a year, and they have sanctioned the construction of new docks and other works to be carried out during the next five years, involving an expenditure of .£5,000,000, most of it on labour, in tho East and South of London."