THE RAILWAY STRIKE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2122, 1 May 1920, Page 3

THE RAILWAY STRIKE.

A.S.R.S. MEN RESUME. LOGO. MEN STILL OUT. The railway strike has not yet been settled. As a result of a conference with the Prime Minister yesterday the executive of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants have declared the strike off, but the executive of the Engine Drivers, Firemen, and Cleaners’ Association did not come to an agreement with the Minister. ■ and the members of this organisation are still on strike. It may be that negotiations will be resumed, but for the present they have ended. There is no arrangement by which the delegates are to meet Air Massey on any later occasion. - Mr Massey also saw the executive of the■ Railway "Officers’ Institute regarding the grievances of the First

Division men, and complete agreement was reached in this conference also. For reasons which arc quite important, the terms of settlement with the A.S.R.S. and the Oificers Institute were not: made public by the Prime Minister, I.lm executive of the A.S.R.S. having asked that fur the present, publication, should be withheld. Mr Massey also declined to make public the points of difference witli the loco, men, although he said that he might have to publish them in the course of a day or two. The statement, by Mr Massey was as follows: — In the case of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants and the First Division men, wo reached complete agreement. With the loco, men we have not been able to agree. We agreed 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 ou which we disagreed was, m my opinion, unreasonable, and as head of the Government 1 could, not agree to it. Mr Massey was asked whether he proposed to take steps to get trams running, but on this he had no remark to make, except to say that the country could not be held up hide Unholy. So also with regard to the continuance of the Royal tour by train, Mr Massey said that this was a. mailer still to be considered. SETTLEMENT ENDORSED.

A mass meeting; of (lie Thermion branch of the A.S.IFS. was held yesterday afternoon, at which members of the executive announced the terms of settlement", and explained lliem fully t>> (he men. A resolution endorsing the net ion of the execulive in accepting the agreement and in calling' the strike off was carried unanimously. There were some 50b men present at the meeting. ATTITUDE OF TRANSPORT WOK KEIFS.

Another resolution carried by the Transport Workers’ Advisory Board is also important. Tins resolution runs ; Thai in view of the communication forwarded by the A.S.R.S. to Ihe executive of the E.F. and C.A. on April 20!b, 1020. and the replies -received from (he locomotive men’s assoeialion on the same date, this meeting’of the Tramport Workers" Advisory Board endorses the action of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants in negotialing'for a separate settlement, as we. recognise that in view of the correspondence received from Cue secretary of; the E.E. and C.A. they laid no other alternative. Further, fins meeting of trahsport workers regrets that the executive of the E.E. and C.A. refused to endorse (he request made by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants for joint action by the two societies to effect a settlement of the railway dispute.

LOCO. MEN FIRM. STATEMENT BY MR, M’ARLEY. ‘‘The executive of the E.F.C.A. is firm in its attitude,” said the secretary (Mr \V. M’Arley) to a Dominion reporter last night. “We have made claims that we consider lo be fair and just. We consider that failing a settlement on the lines wo have suggested, the alternative is for the Government to go through the schedule of wages and conditions point by point and arrive at a settlement. “We are anxious to bring the dispute to a -speedy settlement, and with that end in view we were prepared to accept the conciliation commission proposed by Mr Massey. If we are lo go through wages and conditions item by item it-will take a considerable time, and prolong the dispute. We met the Prime Minister to-day in what wo 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 we asked him to concede one point he would not do it. That is where we stand to-night.” Mr M’Arley added that the conference between the Prime Minister and the executive of the E.F.C.A. had broken completely, and no proposal bad yet been made for its resumption. He could not tell what the future developments would be. MR. MASSEY IN REPLY.

The Prime .Minister replied last night to the statement that the loco, men had-given way on several points, and that he had refused to give way on the #ne concession asked of him. “All I can say.’’ he stated, “is that the points they are supposed to have conceded were of no value at all. What really happened .was that with the assistance of Sir Francis Bell I simply straightened up their language and ideas, and put them in workable form, in

which shape I was prepared to accept them. I offered to Mr M’Arloy and liis 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. The granting of the concessions to the locomotive men would have been grossly unfair to the other railway men, and to other branches of the Public Service.”