SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 April 1918, Page 3

SHIPBUILDING IN AUSTRALIA.

POSSIBILITY OF GRAVE TROUBLE SYDNEY. March 20

The long drawn shipbuilding controversy has suddenly develped in a manner which may precipitate grave industrial trouble. Wiser counsels may prevail, and a satisfactory adjustment no arrived at, but the position at the molnoilt' is tlilit the Federal' Prime M blister lias Issued an ultimatum and can not withdraw from the position lie has taken up without making him. Self look ridiculous.- The tiled show no sign of surrendering, and the situation is so full of ugly possibilities thatthe hired instances leading up to the impasse indy be briefly retold.

Australia, .with her accumulated produce* piled mountains high,- wfiftts nothing so much as ships.- Every country has turned earnestly to shipbuilding; and Australia should have done so a year or two ago.- Some months since -Mr.- Hughes tackled the problem. He got the support of the State Governments, and tiieri sought the co-operation and approval of organised Labour. Labour puffed otit its chest,- and went arrogantly' and grandiloquently to a conference. Nothing there was heard about the needs of Australia and the Empire: it was a matter of how far the unions would forego their conceits and principles. Mr. Hughes unfortunately for everyone, took the unions as seriously as tliev look themselves. He' argued, pleaded, cajoled, bullied, and eventually lie got all tile unions into something like a line, except- the Amalgamated Engineers. The split was on the question of piece-work. The engineers said they would not agree to piece-work. Mr. Hughes said they would never bo asked to do piece.work. The engineers agreed, but asked why, then • should they he asked to agree to something that would not- lie necessary. Air, Hughes said that all tile unions must sign the agreement before shipbuilding would start. The engineer.s said they would work on the shipbuilding under tlie terms of the'agreement, but without signing it. Mr Hughes said that would not- do. And so the argument dragged on for months. Yesterday, Air Hughes announced that only the men who, through their unions Of individually, had signed the shipbuilding agreement would he retain od in the dockyards at Cockatoo Island, .Sydney, after Alareli 2-jtli. “I desire to emphasise in the clearest possible way that the agreement must be signed and that there must be no further dolav, as the unions, have had months to 1 consider the question,” wrote the Prime Minister. “It has been thrashed 4-ut of the conference of shipbuilding unions, which has recommended its adoption. Al'.ihy unions have signed the agreement, and all shipbuilding vards throughout the Commonwealth "are to forthwith adopt thein. ... It must he made perfectly clear that the signing, of the agreement is a i consideration precedent to the futnie employment.” The unions are almost certain to tak up the fight, on two grounds:—First that this is an attempt to dragoon la l-oii,-, and must be resisted;. and, second that the -agreement was to apply only to commercial shiobuilding with which Cockatoo Island is not concerned. It looks as if Australian-built ships are not going to sail the seas for manj a long day yet.