LABOUR UNREST.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13521, 1 November 1911, Page 5

LABOUR UNREST.

Press Association .—Telegraph. —Copyright to Received November'!, 10.0 a.m. LONDON, October 31. The London and North-Western ComS any has increased wages and reduced the ours of men, involving an increased expenditure of £BO,OOO annually. STRIKE LEVIES ILLEGAL. SYDNEY. October 31. Judge Scholes dismissed an application by the Furniture Trades Society, asking for power to enforce a levy on a member to support the women and children' involved in the coal strike. The grounds of the dismissal were that the raising of strike levies was against the spirit of the Industrial Arbitration Act,’any contract, madh to pay’levies being void, as against public policy. THE SYDNEY STRIKE. More Steamers Laid Up. SYDNEY. October 31. As the. result of the strike, the steamer Cycle has been laid up; and her crew of 30 paid oil. The crews of the steamers Moruya and Period have been paid off. Permanent hands and clerks are doing good’ work in shifting cargo. Some vessels, after discharging, received quantities of general loading' as well as perishable goods. THE ADVICE TO RESUME. SYDNEY, October 31. Tlie Hon. A. C. Carmichael has withdrawn his proposal for the Government to act in the capacity of a stevedore. A special meeting of wharf labourers, to be held to-morrow night, will discuss the a'dvice given by the Melbourne conference to resume work. . THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE. SYDNEY, October 31. In discussing the Arbitration Bill, Mr Cook, referring to; the wharf labourers’ strike, declared that it was a scandal to have two Labour Governments each saying it could not act. MEN LIKELY TO RESUME. Received November 1, 10.40 a.m. SYDNEY, November 1. ' It is,expected that.the.wharf labourers will decide,to resume .at to-night’s meeting. It is stated that they did not fully realise the legal aspect when they struck. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S ATTITUDE. Received November 1, 10.(T a.m. MELBOURNE, November 1. In reply to questions in the Federal House, the .Hon. W. M. Hughes declared that lie could not prosecute the Sydney strikers, as the trouble was confined to one State. THE MT. LYELL STRIKE. MELBOURNE, November 1. ~ .The Mt.; Lyell directors have posted notices intimating distinctly that they decline to reinstate Norman White. . If the men choose to declare the strike off they will be re-engaged as required. THE AUCKLAND STRIKE. A Conference. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, October 31. A conference of representatives of tlie Drainage Board, the Labourers’ Union, and the contractors concerned in tin strike of men ermloyod on the drainage works opened this morning. Mr Semple, representing the Federation of Labour, denied that the union had made threats. When he informed the Mayor that New Zealand would be paralysed he spoke of an active possibility. What was wanted was that the contractors should come to an agreement that they would not let sub-contractors on the nresent contract. Mr Gordon, representing the contractors, did not think it wise to surrender the privilege of sub-contracting because they should retain some control over the work. They had paid-the men above the award rates, and they had not been subjected to hard and fast conditions. The amount of sub-contracting was so small as to be scarcely worth creating the extreme situation that had arisen. . He regretted the course taken, and was sorry for tlie men. Every, contractor was prepared to give fair and equitable treatment. He suggested that the union’s demand was a matter for consideration in future contracts. t Mr Aims, the union secretary, referred Ito the trouble that had arisen in Onchunga and in the city through the bonus system, sub-contracting being, introduced THE STRIKE ENDED. AUCKLAND, October 31. Tho Labourers’ Union, confirmed the agreement, and the strike has ended. THE RUMOURED RAILWAY STRIKE AT PALMERSTON. A,n Emphatic Denial. PALMERSTON N„ November 1. Tlie officials of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants in Palmerston give an emphatic denial to the,statement published this morning that they intend to strike. They do not deny that great dissatisfaction exists and that they contemplate some action, but the local secretary says; “Whatever we do, we want the public sympathy, and not their condemnation. Tlie question of striking has not even been mooted."