COST OF STRIKES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5274, 14 May 1928, Page 3

COST OF STRIKES.

A BIG BILL. £615,000,000 IN TWENTY YEARS. Sir Robert Hadfield, presiding at the annual meeting o£ Hadfields, Ltd., steel manufacturers, Sheffield, said that from 1908 to, 1927 inclusive, there had been about 16,000 separate disputes in Britain, involving C more than 18,000,000 Workers, who ' lost 461.000,000 working days. That was equivalent to about 300 years’ operations at the works of Hadfields, Ltd., with their 500'0 employees. Assuming the selling value of the products of each worked averaged about £4OO a year, the value of products which could have been made during these, lost working days was dftbout £615,000,000. One-third of. this loss, or £205,000,000, was concentrated into the year 1926. No wonder the country suffered and was still suffering under this terrific shock. Last year’s loss of about 1,000,000 working days was the lowest on record since, 1907. That was a striking proof of the increased goodwill prevailing between employer, and employed.

Sir Robert mentioned that a few days ago one of Hadfield’s projectiles was fire.d under, a severe test against improved armour of the most modern type, and was recovered in wucli satisfactory condition that it could have been iired agaim