LOSING THE PREFERENCE CLAUSE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3188, 12 September 1917, Page 5

LOSING THE PREFERENCE CLAUSE

INCIDENT OF THE SYDNEY STRIKE, j Melbourne, August 31. Mr. Justice Higgins, in the Arbitration Court to-day, struck, out the preference clause in the Waterside Workers Award as applied to Sydney, Melbourne, and lfremantle, but allowed the order to lie in the office for a week to give the men an opportunity to return to work. ' He said, in the course of judgment, that, in plain words, the men were taking the same attitude a3 the Germans took in their attack on Belgium. Thev were treating agreements which they deliberately made as a scrap of paper 'to be flung aside or ignored when it becomes an inconvenient restraint or when it conflicted with the interest or the possible interest of soino union. Under such circumstances lie would probably be inclined to deprive the Melbourne and Sydney, unions of preference if he had the jurisdiction to do so; but as he had not tho jurisdiction, he would do what he could to relievo the employers of the obligation im--1 .posed upon them by the Court. The employers merely attacked proYisions which bore directly 011 their freedom to select whom they liked for their work. The attitude of the employers seemed to be moderate and reasonable. Thoir proposal was directed solely to tho end of securing tho carrying on of operations- which the public required to be carried on, and which the members of the unions had stopped. There is no attempt to cut dow.n wages or to put men to work in inhuman conditions, and as a guarantee of good faith the companies undertook to the Court that with all the employees in their wharf work, whether the employoes were members of the union or not, the condition of the award as to wages and all other matters would be observed. The pos sible advantage >to tho cause jof the skilled workers from tho action of Hie waterside workers was not comparable with the actual suffering inflicted by it on the innocent and helpless; but tho High Court had held that the Arbitration Court had no power to interfere with them. In other words this Court was prohibited from touching the root of the present difficulties. Lato this afternoon an application was made to Mr. Justice :n Chambers by Mr. Starke, on behnlt of the PriniS 'Minister and Attorney-Gen-eral of tho Commonwealth for a rule nisi, calling upon the Waterside Workers' Federation to "show cause" why the registration ot' thoir organisation should not bo cancelled on tho grounds set forth in an affidavit, which -.llegcd that members' at Port Pirie had refused to unload coal from die steamer Wiscombe Park, a vessel lying at that port. After ascertaining at what period the parties could, be ready, His Honour granted an order nisi, and made it returnable for argument on Thursday of next week. .