LABOUR TROUBLES

Taihape Daily Times, 31 January 1919, Page 5

LABOUR TROUBLES

THE LABOUR UPHEAVAL. NO CAUSE FOR PANIC. LONDON, January 29. Though there are 172,000 men on strike and many serious symptoms of industrial unrest, the best judges in touch with workingmen express the opinion that there is no reason for panic. The sudden strikes are principally due to the absence of a national solution affecting the problem of absorbing four million men demobilising from the army and navy. The younger workers are taking advantage of the transitional period, which has caused a semichaotic condition in many industries to secure increases of wages and a reduction of hours. They are helped by the fact that the Government seem! 'to be without a concerted Labourpolicy, ad appear to be waiting to be pushed into action. But This condition is not confined to the Government. It extends to the Labour world Thus the Clyde engineers" are demanding forty hours, and in Belfast the engineers demand 11 hours. If the Government promised a general Eight Hours’ Act,'it would materially ease the situation.

DEMOBILISATION FACTORS LONDON, January 29. The necessity of absorbing four million demobilised men is the root of tinj present trouble. A typical strike leaflet runs: '' ‘ A thousand workmen are being demobilised daily Over a hundred thousand workers have been dismissed from civil employment. The only remedy is that no one must work more than forty hours, but no reduction of wages and no overtime.” The difficulties due to demobilisation were illustrated at mines when demobilised miners applied for work. Many of the substituted men were dismissed, and strikes commenced, not against the reinstatement of soldiers, but in favour of the retention of the wartime miners. The strikers demanded that before anyone was~dismissed a six days’ day’ should be conceded in all the mines. It cannot be denied that the British industrial world is drifting to a disordered scramble, in which the strongest unions get what they want, while the rest of the community bear the burden, which the strongest have shifted on to their shoulders. The result is that the whole basis of wageearning has become ia> mosaic of unfairness and unreason. The majority of the strikes are engineered by irresponsible young men who secured election on the shop committees which arc -'carrying on the propaganda hitherto associated with shops’ stewards. The shop committees regard Bolshevism as a policy for obtaining reform by thio direct method of and intimidation, instead of through Parliamentary channels.

Mr. G. IST. Barnes concluded a three day conference with the British trade unionists. The Dominion representatives arc preparing a draft scheme for an iut'rnutioual regulation of the conditions of employment. The scheme embodies the views of British trade unionism, and will be submitted to the International Commission on Labour Regulation.

There is a remarkable development ■;t the Clyde, where the employer's of all the large flour nulls ceased work in sympathy with 'the strikers. Tine carters also took h holiday, though they deferred their decision regarding a strike. A big effort is being mad'3 to persuade the corporation employees to stop the municipal services. The leader of the movement is Councillor Shin well, a cool, forceful speaker, who urges the necessity of breaking down the barriers, between 'the different classes of the workers with a view to concerted action. He predicts that unless the union executives get into closer touch with, the members the whole structure of trade will be endangered.

BRITISH NATION Ali FACTORIES

UNION URGED TO BUY

LONDON. January 30

•Sir Eric Geddes, addressing the Employers’ Alliance, in London, suggested that unions should buy the national factories rand run them; the Government would view the matter sympathetically.