LONDON BUILDING STRIKE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2164, 1 June 1914, Page 8

LONDON BUILDING STRIKE.

HUGE LOSSES IN LONDON

3y Telorraph—Pros* Assßfialion-Ct'pyrfsM London, T\lay 80. Tho. executive of tho building strikers hits advised the acceptance of the terms, which aro tie best yet offered in tho London buiktag iiiditstry, but the teen aro determined to uphold, their right to strike, against employment of nonunionist*. The- men have received £150,000 in strike pay. The stoppage of building operations hits" entailed a, loss of £S,t)Oft,UOO. . The strikers number 25,000 Men actually out, but ISO r QQO workers aro involved m the buiHi»g trades allied to tho strikers. The-re are 14,000 skilled Workers. The dispute at present only affects the- London Master Builders' Association, which has a membership of 309, and doo.s not represent tho whole of She building trade. The men's executive states that the Diet! have revived los! weekly strike pay. which was increased to* twenty shillings in some instances by local contributorSj according to the wealth of tho local allied' trades unions. Qf 11,000 labourers, tho bulk have received 75., and sore© up to 12s. 6d, Many, of the men, chiefly those who had newly joined, aro dependant on street collections, and receive as low as 2s, Many of the strikers obtain emalaymnt witli builders outside the Masters' Assaeiation f and contribute to tho gor-cra! strike fund. The -strike exchequer is being rapidly depleted'. The Employers' Federation represents 6000 members, employing 600,000 men, and the Wages bill is over £750,000 Weekly. It is estimated that a national lock-out would -cause a standstill to £■150,000,000 of capital, and £50,000,009 worth of work which is in progress. (Roe. May 81, 5,5 p.m.) LOndflft, May 30. The- master builders- in the provinces aro not keen on the question of a national lock-out- by the Federation. The council will meet withi'n ten days to take the ballot -which is necsasa-ry before a national lodi-out can ha declared., ' The' stumbling-block to a settlement is tho employment of non-unionists, and, in a lesser degree-. .ft© non-recog-nition of the men's Federation, The masters, aro convinced that tho ean : t;hima»oe of "lightning strikes" will paralyse trade. Tim method wn-s for tho workmen to a-ppa-mt, a enrtoin day for thfl production of 'a Mow-workers ticket., and if this was not pto.-iuced a strike-' was .called without notice. After twenty of these lightning strikes the masters determined to sccwrc Hfom the ■men, a pfoWMtive guarantee against .them. This was refused.