TRAMWAY STRIKE

Southland Times, Issue 18840, 5 June 1920, Page 5

TRAMWAY STRIKE

AUCKLAND SERVICES STILL suspended. OTHER TRANSPORT UNIONS WORKING. NEGOTIATIONS NOT OPENED, i (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 4. . The entire suspension of the tramway services continued in Auckland t«?-day, and present indications are that the citizens may have to do without this great public convenience for a protracted period. No disposition has yet been shown by the City Council on the one side nor the Tramway Union on the other to come together in conference in order to endeavour to arrive at a solution of the present- deadlock. The services of Mr P. Hally, Conciliation Commissioner, have been offered in this connection. Only the conductors and motoraien in the tramway service are on strike. None of the other tramway employees have followed their lead, nor have any of them been thrown out of employment in the meantime.

Pending settlement of the dispute which has deprived them of trams, the citizens are for the most part walking to work and accepting (he situation with the best grace possible. With fine weather conditions their unaccustomed exercise is not rendered unpleasant, but should the strike be protracted and the weather change to winter conditions the public inconvenience will be doubled.

Scores of motor vehicles have been placed on the road, and residents in the suburbs are patronising (hem freely, in spite of the fares charged, which are fairly high. The suburban train traffic was very heavy to-day in consequence of the tramways strike. It has been estimated that the railways brought about 2000 more passengers into the city than is usually the case The Railway Department placed" additional carriages on all the suburban trains on both (he main line and the Kaipaxa line. The extra accommodation was speedly occupied, and many had to stand. A busy scene was witnessed at the Auckland railway station this evening, when a great rush for homeward-bound trains set in. During one hour 1000 tickets over the average were sold. The Minister for Labour, Sir William Herries, in answer to an inquiry to-night said, “I have instructed the Conciliation Commissioner, Mr Hally, to offer to mediate between the parties to the tramway dispute. My idea is that he will wait upon them for the purpose of ascertaining whether he can be of any service in assisting to bring (be trouble to an end.” The Minister said that the Labour Department was collecting full particulars of the circumstances which led up to the strike and when this was completed a report would be submitted to him.

As was explained yesterday, about seventy tramwaymen, acting it is said on the advice of the Transport Workers' Advisory Board, Wellington (the executive of the Transport Workers’ Federation of Workers) to the effect that all racing was “black” until the jockeys were reinstated, refused yesterday morning to run the “specials” that generally ply between Queen street and Remuera for the convenience of race-goers. Nothing happened until the time came for the afternoon shift to go on at 3 p.m. Included in the shift were some of the men who had refused to fake the “specials” out in the morning. When they reported, they say, they were told by the tramway officials at the barns that there was no work for them. In fact, they were suspended. Other men who were told off to take over the duties of the men who had been suspneded refused, and the whole service gradually came to a stop.

The trains carried a big proportion of the big race crowd back from Ellerslie, and many travelled in motor cars and ’basses, the latter plying for hire in specially large numbers, but many hundreds of people who had gone out by the trams were compelled to walk home.

The local branch of the Transport Workers’ Advisory Board has been sitting to-day to consider the strike and the jockeys’ dispute, representatives of the watersiders, seamen, tramwaymen, drivers, and railwaymen being present. The conference broke up late to-night, and will be resumed tomorrow. The secretary said he had nothing to communicate to the press. No negotiations for settlement had, however, been commenced.

The Tramways Union will meet to-mor-row afternoon.

The position at. a late hour to-night, therefore, was that the tram strike was still on, no other sections of the Transport Federation had joined the strikers, and the jockeys had not indicated any intention of refusing riding engagements to-morrow. CITY COUNCIL STATEMENT. AUCKLAND, June 4. The City Council considered the tram strike to-night, and appointed a special committee to deal with the matter, with full power to act. The committee sat immediately after the Council meeting, and suosequently issued the following statement; — (11 The tramway service has ceased to run on account of a section of the men having refused duty yesterday, and the remainder failing to take out their cars this morning at both depots. (2) When the men refused duty yesterday or failed to take the cars out this morning, the Council had no option but to lay up the cars and give a week’s notice to the other employees affected. (3 1 The Council must insist on retaining control of the service, and cannot resume the services until this position is adequately established.

(4) The Council in the meantime is com polled to give a week’s notice to all traffic and other employees whose services are not needed owing to the stoppage of the tramways. THE JOCKEYS’ DISPUTE. j STATEMENT BY THE SECRETARY. | The secret aiy of the New Zealand Joct keys’ Association, Mr Sheath, in an interview to-night, said it had been reported that the Jockeys’ Association, in common with all other unions, was provided with legal means of advancing its claims. This was entirely contrary to fact. There was no law in the Dominion that could compel the Racing Conference to meet the association, which had submitted thirty items in dispute to the racing clubs throughout New Zealand and to the Racing Conference. They refused to meet the association, and even a message from the Premier to Sir George Clifford failed to get the latter to consent. The whole trouble between the association and the Racing Conference could be easily rectified by Sir George Clifford, who is at present in Auckland, agreeing to meet representatives of the association for the purpose of discussing the items in dispute. The 23 items in dispute with the owners and trainers would be discussed in Wellington on June 10. “We asked Sir George Clifford through Mr Massey to have the two lots discussed at that meeting,” said Mr Sheath, "but he refused. I ‘cannot predict what will happen next.”

The statement was made by four prominent horsemen to-night that as the result of the Tramway Union’s latest move a number of jockeys had resigned from the association to-day. The president of the Racing Conference, Sir George Clifford, when approached in regard to Mr Sheath’s statement, said, ‘T do not want to say anything.” WELLINGTON DRIVERS’ SYMPATHY. WELLINGTON, June 3. In accordance with the decision arrived at last night, pickets from the Drivers’ Union were on duty this morning, near the Thomdon Station endeavouring to persuade members of their union or any unionists that they knew not to attend the Otaki races. The pickets report that their efforts were very satisfactory, not morp than twelve persons failing to respond to their representations.