NEW FRENCH CABINET ANNOUNCED BY M. SCHUMAN

Grey River Argus, 7 September 1948, Page 5

NEW FRENCH CABINET ANNOUNCED BY M. SCHUMAN

' FARIS, September 5. M. Robert Schuman, the. Prime Minister, announced his Cabinet today. He takes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Prime Ministership J _Qther portfolios are held as follows: Interior, M. Jules Moch (Socialist); Finance and National Economy, M. Christian Pineau (Socialist); Justice, M.’ Robert Lecourt (Popular Republican); Defence, M. Rene Mayer (Radical Socialist). There are only a few changes from the previous Government headed by M Marie, the chief being the dropping of M. Paul Reynaud, in favour of a Socialist as Finance Minister The new Cabinet held its first meeting this afternoon. The party strength in the Cabinet is: Radicals 4 Socialists 4, Popular Republicans 6, Independent 1. The Minister of Labour is M. Daniel Mayer, a Socialist. CABINET GRANTS BONUS TO 1 WORKERS The new Government has been formed against a background of “pinprick strikes”—stoppages varying from 15 minutes to 24 hours—which continued to grow. There .are still 30,000 textile workers out at Roubaix and 90,000 miners out in the South ot France The new Cabinet, at a meeting today, decided to grant each worker in private industry a £3 bonus, payable on September 11. A communique said the bonus would not prejudice wage measures to come . It is presumed Government workers will not get the bonus, which roughly equals the monthly increase, in the legal minimum wage which the tiade unions are demanding The bonus is annarently a gesture by the Govern ment to gain the workers’ confidence while it reviews the whole question of wage increases. , The communique stated that the Cabinet had granted the bonus to workers in private industry to stave off the threat of an industrial strike wave “after the first exchange of views on the whole economic and financial programmes to be brought before future Cabinet meetings . There is believed to be a political aspect to the bonus. The Socialists are reported to have agreed to support the Cabinet only if the Premier, M. Schuman, granted the workers a general, wage increase. __