SHIPPING CRISIS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10289, 26 May 1919, Page 5

SHIPPING CRISIS

POSITION IN AUSTRALIA

ATTEMPT TO AVERT GENERAL

STRIKE.

By Telegraph—Frees Association—Copyright

(Received May 25, 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY". May 25,

Matters relating to the shipping trouble are quiet pending to-morrow'a compulsory cuiuerence a„ Melbourne.

it is understood that there is consiaeraoio ditierence oi opinion amongst the men regarding tho advisableness oi pressing ni«i,t.-ers to the extreme of a general scribe involving all the wateraiders, and it is hopeu tno conference will tmd a way to avert tins. Meantime iho crews continue to leave the vessels as their notices expire. The whole coastal trade is coming to a standstill. Tlho tying-up of colliers threatens serious interlerence with the dispatch of oversea ships. CREWS LEAVING THEIR VESSELS. SYDNEY, May 24. • The watersiders are holding a mass meeting to-day to discuss tho strike situation. The crews of all inter-State and coastal vessels arriving yesterday gavo notice. Tho Manuka sailed for Wellington. NEW ZEALAND SEAMEN NOT AFFECTED. (Received May 26, 12.20 a.m.) SYDNEY, May 26. Tho Union Company's steamers Oonah, Karori, and \vaihora are amongst tho vessels idle. Amongst the crews of trie two last-named are a number of New Zealand seamen, who are not involved in tho strike, and therefore remain with tho vessels. BROKEN HILL MINERS TO STRIKE. SYDNEY, May 24. The Ways and Means Committee appointed by the Broken Hill strikers has sent circulars to various organisations in Australia and Now Zealand, announcing that tho miners at Broken Hill have decided to strike to obtain conditions to enable them io live as human beings. The principal demands arc—A Rixhours' day, a five-days' weok, abolition of night shifts and contracts, compensation for occupational diseases,- and « living wage. It is anticipated that the struggle will last for some months. A FURTHER THREAT. SYDNEY, May 24. The Amalgamated Engineers employed on tho railways are demanding increased wages. The grocery employees are making the same demand, with a threat that if it is not granted, U 4 hours' notice to strike will be given. TERRORISM SPREADING. ; . MELBOURNE, May 24. The strike has spread to tho men engaged on the wheat stacks at Brooklyn, where the unionists drove the loyalists from the yards. .All the work, including the shipment of wheat for tho Imperial Government, has been suspended. The policy of terrorism is spreading, three more loyalists being severely wounded in their homes, and several others attacked. A hundred special constables have been sworn in. The Federal president of the Returned Soldiers' and Sailors' League bas sent a message to members,_ emphasising the necessity for abstaining from active participation in any industrial dispute, and calling upon members to support constituted authority in maintaining law and order.