ALLEGED SEDITIOUS STRIKE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 19, 17 October 1918, Page 6

ALLEGED SEDITIOUS STRIKE

By Telesraph.—Press Association. .' Oamaru, October 16. At the Magistrate's Court to-day the Labour Department proceeded against thirty-four waterside workers on the oharge that, on (July 26, 1918, at Oamaru, they were parties to a seditious' strike, to wit, a strike of wharf labourers, which strike was seditious in that it had a tendency to interfere with the offective conduct of an industry declared by regulation to be an industry essential for the public welfare, to wit, the loading and unloading of ships contrary to Clause 2 of the said regulations. The charge arose out of the alleged refusal of the waterside workers to work after 10 o'clock at night unloading the Kittawa, which was carrying coal. ; Mr. M'Cregor, K.C. (Dunedin), for the Crown, said the Department wished to have the obligations of the men definitely laid down, as it was felt there was a growing disinclination on _ the part of watersiders to work overtime. The .Crown asked for an interpretation of the regulations and the men's agreement. , ■, , Mr. F. 'W. Ongloy. for the. defence, urged that the men had fulfilled their part of the agreement and that they were entitled to cease work at ten o'clock lmless dw notice of the intention of the employers to have the work don" at inecia' overtime rates ws_given at the last mil. namely, at 4.30 in the afternoon. This notice was not posted.

After a hearing occupying some hours, the Magistrate (Mr. J. R. Bartholomew) reserved his decision.