A.S.R.S. STRIKE ENDED

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 185, 1 May 1920, Page 8

A.S.R.S. STRIKE ENDED

~ LOCOMOTIVE MEN-: STILL OUT / ' " "AN ABORTIVE 'GQNFE.BENCE' ' / SOME TRAINS MAY RUN - ATTITUDE Of"'OTHER ' WORKERS

Unfortunately the railway strike lias .lot,.been settled.. As a result of a.con-, ierciico with the Prime Minister.yesterday the executive of tho .'Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants have declared. tho strike off, Jjut/.tho,. executive of the Engino. Drivcrs, Firemen, and Cleaners' Association did not . comp to an agreement with the Minister/ and the members : of this organisation are still on strike. It ii)ay bo that negotiations' will bo resumed,' but for the present they .liavo ended. There: is no arrangement by which the'delegates are to meet Mr. Mossey on any. later occasion. : Mr. Maseey also saw the /executive of the Railway. Oliiceri' .Institute- regarding ' the. grievances' of the : First Division men, and complete agreement was reached in this conference also.

For reasons which art? quite important, the terms iif: settlement with the A.S.R.S'.' and tho Officers' Institute were not made public by the Prime ' Minister, ■ the executive of the A.S.R.S.'having iisked that for tho present publication should be withhold. Jilr. Kassey also declined to lwiko public tlio points • of, difference with the loco, men, although he said thai lie might havet to publish them in tbo course of ft day or two.. : . Tho-statement by Mr.-Massey was as follows:—- .. . . ■ ' , ■ In the- case of the AjnilS'Wiated .Society of .Railwriy: Servants ond__the ■"First Division men w» .reached comjilete agrcemcnit. With tho loco, men we have not been able to agree. W 6 vagre'sjl on every point but one. There are proposals to: which one cannot : ! agree,'and this, in my opinion, is one of them. The proposal of the. loco., : men on which ,we .disagreed was,'in my opinion, unreasonable, and as head'of tli'o Government I could not-

agree to it. .." ; : • . Mr.'Massey was asked whither'lie pro- ! posed to take steps to get trains running, but on this lie had no remark'to ; make, except to say .that the country ' could "'liot be held up indefinitely. •" So also with regard . to.': the'.'continuance of the RpyaLti'iur by train, Mr. Massey said that his was. a-matter still to be considered, - . ■ -V ■<. Settlement Endorsed. A mass meeting :of tho Thornilon brarichof the A.S.R.S.-I was held yes-, terday afternoon, at which members of v . tho i executive announced the terms ,of : 'settlement,: and explained thenv fully to ' tho- men. A resolution: endorsing the • action of the 'executive in- accepting the and iu calling tho strike off was carried ; unanimously. . There - wero . some 500 men present, at the, meeting. Attitude, of Transport Workers. Another resolution ': carried ■ by .- the Transport. Workers' Advisory .Board, is also important. This resolution runs: ■ •; That in view .'of the 1 ' eommunicaJ -.-'tions-forwarded by . tho -A.S.RiS. to, « - - ;tlio: executive. of the: E.]j and • C.A-;'-' ,-. oil- 1 Axn-il':' 29, ; 1920, • and ,ihe : replies /received "ffoin tho. locomotive linen's on the same-date,' this . meeting' of- tho .Traaaport ■'Workers' Adu'Ory--.Board;endorses' tho action of ( the. Amalgamated/ Sodefy.bf-Rail- ; AVayVServants in negotiating, for a . separate settlement, as we Tecognise - , that in.. view, of. tho .correspondence .' -receiveA; from tho secretary of. tho . E.F., arid ,C.A. they had' no other, : meeting -, of. transport workers regrets that the ■ '.-.rr executive'-of th«.-B.F, and C.A. re- '!: fused to endorso tho request made 1 ": . by. tho Society, of Bail;. way Servants for joint action by tho two societies to effect,a. settlement of . • the railway dispute. LOCOlii" FIRM '

live men refused all co-operation. They sai.l they ivcre going on their own and that they did not want any help. They intended to settle their own ■ striko. Our oxecutivo has accepted that and has made a settlement, and. our duty now is "*to stand by I hat settlement. I aju prepared to work any train that is mn, 110 matter' who. is on the engine, •md that is thw attitude of the ytlier members jis far as I can learn. If +.lie locomotive men wanted our support, it would be a different matter. But they say they don't. They have refused,, to link up with the Transport Workers! j Federation, with which our. society is! ■affiliated, and they regard themselves ns I sepatate from 'all the rest of us. AVell, 'they have it their own way." "Are.you going to run 'seal)' trains?" was tho question put to a group of A.S.R.S. members, at Thorndon after the settlement. "There can't bo any such thing as a,'scab' tra : n," was. tho reply. "We were ordered out by our executive and we are: going back when instructed by our executive. We ore affiliated with ..the Transport Workers' Federation,'.that is, the : seamen, watcrsidera, and tramwaymen, and they back our executive We.jvould! rather the loc<i. motive- men were with us.." We know that they have been asked to be with ( u». :Whaf. more is there to it? Of course we are. going to run trains. Tha sooner the locomotive;, men are back at their jobs also, the-better we shall be pleased." "

WORKSHOPS EMPLOYEES RETURN,

Things at Petone and the Hutt were much the-same yesterday ns on the two preceding days; except, that no. trains ran to or from either place. The buses 'carried most of, the passengers into and out from town; but the pressure was' somewhat relieved by the steamer Pelican, which made one trip in the morning and brought workers b.ick again ufter 5 o'clock. ' ';

PETONE MEN'S ATTITUDE

' ■ STATEMENT BY MR. M'ARLEY. ■ f ;,.".yjie,,executive of theE.F.C.A. is firm j in'its-attitude,? l said the secretary (Mr. W. M'Arley) to a Dominion reporter last night. "We have mnda claims that we • considered be fair and jujt'.' We consider that failing a settlement on the ./ .-lines wa ,have suggested, the alternative Government to go through the "■'schedule ofwages. and conditions point ■ >i.by,ipoint;aiid arrive at aVse-tUement. v "Wo are' anxious to bring the dispute ,to a settlement, and-'with that; > end in view we Were'prepared to' accept ■.•tt-the conciliation commission' proposed by »:vMr.-,Massey: ; If we are. to .go through :: ; wages- and . conditions - item .by item it> Will take a considerable time and prolong ;'.,;the,. -dispute'.... We'met the Prime Minis-ter'to-day in what we consider to-be a ■ fair way., We gave in' to him on a good many points, or at least we ; considered we did, and when wo naked him to con- \ eed? one point he would not do it. That is where wo st(ind to-night." .. Mr. M'Arlev added that the conference . between the Primo .Minister and the executive of the E.E.C.A. had broken com-, pletely,' and no proposal had yet been made for-its resumption. Ho' could not tell what the future developments would' ' te. ; . MR. MASSEY IN REPLY. .' ■ The Prime Minister replied last, night ; \to the statement that tlie loco, men had eiven .way on several points, said that' lie ' had refused to give way on Undone concession asked of him. "AH I can say," ho;stated, "is that tho. points they are to have conceded were of no ". value at all.. What really happened .was :"; s that. with I 'the assistance of Sir Francis ""Belltl simpily straightened up their.lau- ;' guhtjo and ideas and'put them in workable form, in which shape I was prepared to'.accept them. I offered to' Mr. M'Arley and his friends practically the same conditions which the other .branches of the service had accepted. He asked for other concessions which I found it impossible to grant. Tho granting of . the concessions to tho locomotive men would have 'been grossly unfair to tho . 'other railway men, and to other branches or Uio Public Service." a.s.r.s7members . LOYAL TO THEIR EXECUTIVE. '

Members of tho A.S.R.S. held three : meetings during the day—one at 10 o'clock for roll" cftll, ono at 3, and another at,7.30 p.m.. At 3 o'clock a telegram was 'read from the executive announcing Vliat t'h« • strik». had been declared off and- advising-the men to re-, turn to work. The older hands were.dis-; posed to act according to the 1 instructions, but tho younger men sought more particulars of the conditions on which they should return,, and a request was sent to Wellington asking for this information. An answer, was. received to the effect that two the executive (Messrs. Sullivan aKS- Davis) would address a'meeting during the evening, jind at' 7.30 p.m. the men again nt. tended at, St. Augustine's Hall to hear the result of the eonfei-t-nce. At tho con. elusion ol.tfie was made-known that the 'A.S.R.S.'.would return- to work this morning.: This means that flie employees ot the workshops, plate-layers, and station staffs'will be back as usual.

FEUD .BETWEEN THE SOCIETIES - ITS EFFECT- ON~"SITUATION. ■ All' this-,arises-from the feud.which has existed between the A.S.R.S. and tho locomotivb'.men's society since this society was formed many years ago by the secession of a number of tho Incomotivo men from the big society. Since tl en the locomotivo men have nearly all joined/up with the now body, but for many years a 'considerable number of them remained in the A.S.R.S. ■ At the-time that tho locomotive inon seceded tlie reason given for'tho action taken was that the engine men were not'getting justice from the big society when negotiations wi(h ■the management wore conducted for, increases of pay and betterment of don- , ditions, Thero has been jealousy between i.the two bodies ever since, aid, each, has striven 'to ensure that its members do not suffer by , comparison, with members 'of tho opposition society. In this: strike tho: locomotive men would not hear of joint action with tho A.S.R.S., although :tfio A'.S.R-.S. asked for it, for the ; first time pro'bably since.there have been two societies. The locomotive- men regarded tho strike as their aifair, and insisted on dealing with it in thoir own way. Now [the A.S.R.S., belong to, the Transport -Workers' Federation, 'and; the federation. Kiok some interest in this strike.'. When an official of this big body_ waited on the locomotive men's executive-he'was. told with but little ceremony to mind his own business. 'The result is that tho locomotive men' have cuft themselves off and standi alone. ' : . ' .'.

V Tho decision, of .-tho A.S.'B.S. oxecu- > tive to call the strike olf was reported .' to . members of the traffic, branch at Lainbton Station and Thorndon Station early y&sterday afternoon. The v men were told, • in cttect, that the Government and tho executivo had agreed to ■ refer' tho dispute to .a tribunal consisting of three representatives of caeli ' side, with an impartial 'chairman to, ,ho selected by the delegates. , This tribunal would bo constituted, within seven days, mid would make recommendations for the settlement of the dispute, without prejudico to tho right of tho wen to' rMiuuo thoir strike in the evont of no satisfactory settlement being reached. Some of tho members of the traffic branch showed,a disposition. to<qucstion tho decision in view of tlio fact that the locomotive men were still on .strike. Thevwere told that the settlement had - tho endorsement of the Trhnsport Workers' Federation, and that any member of .tho A.5.11.5.' who refused to take up . Lis x ordinary duties would not receive ■ the support of bis organisation. They ■BWe also told that sufficient timo would bo allowed,' before any penalties wero . enforced, for information; regarding, tho settlement to reach tho ou (side d:ptricte, Tho Lambton and Thorndon branches. ondorsed tho settlement prac- % ticallv unanimously;. \ During tho evening a Dominion reportermtsrviewed several members Ci -fee -traffic branch,-- and )Ifv f pund - tli.em fctflJSftfflaoKf- deten-rtineHil'-'to^suprort 'tho" 1 facts put before nfi to-day,"' Biiid one tiftn. " 'iotters vrrro read to us showing* (m. tm> A.8.1t.5. executive oM the Ir-;' I *, port Fedorttffon ; oxecnitiv» ha 4 a'scit we locomotive men's exwatire t-i i'*to * enttl'ATOiit, lie hwrui-

Attitude of A.S.R.S. , Tho meaning of the action ~oi' 'the A.S.R.S. executive in declaring the strike off is that the. executive instructs its members to return to duty. If they refuse to do so thati is'.tiieir. own ' aifair, to be settled by themselves with the Department. They are no longer to look for support from the. executive- in staying oat in sympathy witli the locomotivo. men. This does not.mean that t'lwy are commanded to do the locomotivo men's work, but tliey must remain on duty to do their own work in connection with any trains that may be run. At the meeting of "the Thorndon branch yesterday, statements we're .'freely made by mbmbcrs present that they .would work. 'trains, whoever they were manned by, and statements of this sort, must mean that the locomotive men have comp'etely alienated the support' of their fellowworkers in other .branches of the sen-ice. A few days ago they bad tho most enthusiastic support of these samo workers. Possible to Run Trains. It is . understood that it will not bo at all impossible to get engine crews for ti few trains,' and. that the number of men available-<wili increase as days go by. It. is freely reported that the waterside worker;? do not intend to make any trouble about the handling'of goods from or into trains because of the locomotivo men remaining on strike. ; It is also reported that tho seamen will not consider such cargo "black," and that nu difficulties will be made about the sailing of ships containing such cargo.

UNSUCCESSFUL-OVERTURES . After the decision'of the A.S.It.S. executive was announced yesterday, a delegation from tile traffic 'branch interviewed members of the E.F.C.A. executivo with tlie object of reaching an understanding. The traffic men said,- in effect, that-- they were bound by the decision of their executive to resumo work, and tliiifc tliey disliked exceedingly the idea bf working .with any men who might be regarded by the locomotive men as ■"scabs'." They wanted; to know what the locomotive mon intended to do,. The locomotive executive replied that the traffic ipen must please themsclvM about resuming work and about running trains with substitute di;ivcr». i The E.F.C.A. lmd ordered its own striko' I and it intendeif to get a settlement in its own way. It did not intend to ,Wiciate itself with any other organisation. THE PRINTS TRAIN i All parties to tho railway dispute ,aro anxious to facilitato the completion of the l.oilr of tho Prince of Wales, and this desire has been a factor in tho negotiation!!. The secretary of the E.F.C.A. (Mr.M'Arley) .stated last night tliiit the loco, men ; had proposed to run >. the I'riiico's triiin through to Auckland. The crews hail not planned to leave the trait at' lifltoruo, and the loco, executive hail hoped to reach i>, setuement that day th>t would covar arrangements for rttnnlwr tho Prinro right through the North fcand. They had mado preparations! with that object in view,

The members of tho A.S.R.S. are prepared to do any-work required in connection with the Prince's train; but tho railway authorities are dubious about, tho ildvisa'bility of attempting to'run the Ro.val train as long ns any part of tho railway service is disorganised by u strike. No:risks, can be taken with/the Princo of Wate while lift is travelling on the New Zealand railways. RAILWAY OFFICERS' INSTITUTE NOT SATISFIED WITH STAFF . ADMINISTRATION. The following resolution was passed unanimously yesterday at a largely-at-tended meeting of the local branch of flie New Zealand Railway Officers' Institute:— "That this meeting of memlx>rs of the Wellington branch of the Railway-. Officers' Institute' affirms that it has absolutely no •confidence in the present management's staff administration, and wo'call .upon the Government to take steps whereby a more -up-to-date staff shall be ensured, which, while protecting the interests of the Dominion, shall also' advance and conserve the individual rights of tlie railway employees. Further, we are strongly of opinion that had' this been done in the past tho present strike would not have eventuated. AUCKLAND FIRSFDIYISION MEN . .HOLD A STRIKE BALLOT. Uy 'felejjraßii--Prfisa Association. . • Auckland, April 30. j The Auckland Railway Officers' Institute held a strike 'ballot to-day. Although the officials liavo declined to'make a statement as to. the' result of the ballot, it is understood tint there was a two-to-onc majority in favour of a strike. THE SUBURBAN TRAINS PARTIAL SERVICE TO-DAY.

Tho settlement of the-A.S.R.S. strike <vas announced to the men early yesterday afternoon,, but it did not make possible the running of suburban trains after working hours. There wero . no trains to .the suburbs in the morning. The railway officials stated that they hoped to be able to run trains outwards after 5 o'clock, and the traffic men were ready for work at that time. But no engines were available and tho trains wero not brought to the platform. Motor traffic on the suburban routes was .better organised yesterday than it had been on tho preceding day. and the conveyance of workers and business peop).i, t:, and from the city seemed to be riiwwUns/.smoothlv: Some waits were inevitable, since the available fleet w Inises and cars could not' niove n\l the people at tho same time. But the 'congestion was not serious,'and it was iinparent that, if the motor services wero required for another day or two they would be found reasonably sufficient, though decidedly high-priced. 'It is anticipated that suburban trams will be run to-day, both morning and evening. .The service will bp limited, but the Tailway authorities hope to be ablo to handle-the ordinary trafhc fit the rush hours. ■. •' ;

' MORAL SUPPORT FOR STRIKERS RESOLUTIONS OP VARIOUS UNIONS By Teleeranh—Press Association Dunedin, April 30. The Dunedin .branch of tho j Seamen's . Union, at a general meeting held on Thursday, resolved: "That, this meeting unanimously endorses tho action of the railway employees in attempting to bring ■about a more humario system of working conditions, end a further increase in their altogether insufficient wage. We extend to them'tho hand of comradeship in their .fight, and, fervently hope that thoy' will meet .with all the -success they are-deserving of." The executive of tho Otago Labour Council to-day forwarded to the secretaries of tho A.S.R.S. and tho E.F.C.A. resolutions congratulating tho railway workors xipoii their determination to bring to an end "'the scandalous procrastination of the Government' ill dealing with their claims for adequate remuneration and better conditions. Hamilton, April 30. ■A meeting of the South .. Aucklnnd ' branch of the New" Zealand Railway Officers' Institute .passed a motion extendins; to tho Enginedrivers and Firemen s Association hearty sympathy "over the unfortunate position into which tliemombers had been forced," and extending moral, support in every, way,-, and, if . necessary, financial support. ' . 1 Auckland, April 30. ' A meetiftg of 1200. watersiders passed a motion assuring the lailwaymcn of their whole-hearted support. The Tramway Union passed a motion, approving , the 'railway strike. ,

MONETARY ASSISTANCE FROM THE SOUTH. By' Tclegrar'i-Press Annotation. 4 : : Christchurch,, April 30./ At a largely-attended meeting of employees of the Aldington Railway Workshops to-day, tbo opinion was expressed that tlic North Island should'not bo allowed .to, bear the loss offpay, and it was resolved that the various railway: organisations in the South Island should bo levied upon with the object of paying the dependants of the men a portion of the pay lost. This decision was arrived at unanimously, and the executive was invited to communicate with all South Island branches ,with a view to collecting the fluids necessary.

TICKET SYSTEM OF RATIONING HEADY FOR INTRODUCTION AT • ROTORUA. By Telegraph.—Press Association ' Rotorua, April '80. Mr. : Hall (resident officer) lias' been appointed tho Board of Trade's representative hero for the control of distribution and prices. Tho Chamber of Commerce has been requested to co-operate with him. The public are warned to exercise caro in tho use of commodities. It has been decided, in tho event of a general strike, to introduce rationing by tickets.- . v V , . The position of the townspeople is not altogether enviable. Coal is in short supply; wood, though plentiful at no great'distance, cannot be got, because the eternal labour scarcity bars the way ; .'and food stocks are insufficient to stand tho strain of tho large temporary population. When tho shops opened ' this afterxoon there was a rush,, as anticipated, but a plan of rationing was adopted to some extent, and prevented any "cornering," thus ensuring that people of small means would have sufficient for their immediato needs, .

; 'PALMERSTON GASWORKS COAL SUPPLIES HOLDING OUT. By Telegraph—Press /snoclatlon. palpierston North, April 30. The position of the local gasworks has been relieved by 150 tons of Newcastle coal being obtained from that lying in trucks-in the station yard. The Government, granted permission for the works to tako the coal, and the local? Strike Committee agreed to movo trucks by hand to the road crossing, whero it {,-as carted by gasworks employees to the gasworks, There is now sufficient con] to Inst to May 10., metaphorically" speaking Br TaleiraDh—l'rem Ai«oo)ntlon. Napier, April SO. At a mass meeting of railwayman this ovening, tlie following resolution was unanimously carried amida great display of enthusiasm:—"This Napier mass ' meeting of.railwayman demands that anj: settlement shall includo all railway workers. When wo resume, we desire a clear blue industrial railway sky."