WORK TO RESUME

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, 8 December 1927, Page 5

WORK TO RESUME

ON ALL WATERFRONTS PENDING ARBITRATION HEARING. DISSATISFIED OWNERS OBEY LAW. IBy Cable — Press Assn. — Copyright.] (Received 8, 10.5 a.m,) London, Dec. 7. British and Continental shipowners have telegraphed to Australia notifying acceptance of the terms and hoping for an immediate resumption.—(A. and N.Z. OWNERS’ OFFICIAL STATEMENT. (Received 8, 10.5 a.m.) Sydney, Dec. 8. An official statement by overseas shipowners announces that they have received a cable advising the acceptance of the conditions laid down by Judge Beeby, and that work will be resumed to-day. The strike has lasted'seven days, has affected more than 50,000 workers, and has resulted in a loss of wages of approximately £150,000. There are 25 overseas steamers of an aggregate tonnage of 175,456 in Sydney waiting to work cargo, and the owners have suffered enormous losses. It will be necessary to work overtime on nearly all the wharves in an endeavour to make up the delay. The owners are stated to feel very deeply the manner in which they were dealt with in the dispute, especially as counsel for the owners were prevented from discussing the matter in Court yesterday. The obligation is on them, however, to obey the law, and they will do so and allow the case to be investigated by Judge Beeby.

SERIOUS ASPECT OF THE ORDER

Tlie “Sydney Morning Herald,” commenting on the statement, says:— A serious aspect is that the order made by the Court concedes temporarily to the union important points, and so tends to justify direct action by a union as an adjunct to arbitration. The article concludes:— Without penalties for the course of conduct it pursued, without loss of its forceful gms in regard to the crucial pick-up matter, and with only assurances that are no more binding than others previously made and broken, the Waterside Workers’ Union is restored to an especially favourable standing in the Court. What is likely to be the effect of that upon the other strong unions that are inclined to mix judicial arbitration with mass action in proportions to suit themselves? We fear it may not be good. IRREPARABLE DAMAGE DONE. (Received 8, 11.1 > a.m.) Sydney, Dec. 8. The strike has caused such a widespread dislocation of the inter-State cargo and passenger s ervices that much time will elapse before normal trade can be restored, In many instances the crews of vessels have been paid off and in a number of "ises the owners may not find it convenient to recommission the ships immediately. With the exception of the Tasmanian services, which were exempted from the strike, there are now only two inter-State passenger vessels in commission.

The cargo of the Ulimaroa will be discharged before that vessel’s departure to-morrow.

A large proportion of the coal miners now idle through the strike will be unable to resume for sevoial days, while a long period will elapse before some of . the mines in the northern fields wil he restarted. The steamer Waikouaiti, which has been held up by the strike, left Sydney for Newcastle last night with the original crew. She returns to Sydney to finish loading. Overseas steamers, which, since the strike, have been lying in the stream, were getting up steam last night in readiness to come up to the wharves to-day. The watersiders claim that if the owners decline to accept the labour offering this morning the men will be in a position to claim a lock-out and again to approach the Arbitration Court. They also declare that if any company engages free labour a general strike will follow.

COST OF DIRECT ACTION. 14J MILLION IN NINE YEARS. (Received 8, 11.20 a.m.) Sydney, Dec, 8. Figures compiled by the Commonwealth Statistician show that the total loss in wages In Australia through strikes from 1917 to 1926, inclusive, amounted to £14,487,891, or an average of £1,448,789 yearly. TRAGEDY TO COAL INDUSTRY. (Received 8, 11.30 a.m.) Sydney, Dec. 8. Reviewing the enormous loss of wages and industrial dislocation due to strikes, Mr. McDonald, chairman of the Northern Colliery Proprietors’ Association, said:—“Never in the history of the State had the slackness in trade been . o intense, and it was assuming proportions that were causing anxiety and alarm to colliery proprietors. Australia’s trade in export coal was dwindling towards extinction/ In the twelve years 1913 to 1925 inter-Stnte and foreign shipments fell by more than 1,000,001) tons, and it was in the nature of a tragedy that while this great industry was fighting for its existence, the pits should be idled on pretexts which were unreasonable and often frivolous.