Meanwhile the immediate onus of the strike seems certainly to
fall upon the men, since the employers were willing to postpone their lock-out notices for a week, during the Court of Inquiry's sitting, while the men refused to withdraw their strike notices. The whole business seems to have been most deplorably mis- managed. Luckily the strike seems to be by no means universal, but a great deal of delay in much-needed housing schemes will unquestionably be occasioned. Perhaps the worst feature of the strike is the extreme friction and irritation which it reveals between masters and men in this industry. We do not profess to say whose fault it is. It certainly looks as if there were faults and to spare on both sides, and we can only hope that Lord Buckmaster's unfailing good sense and clarity of analysis will bring reason to the disputants.
*
Previous page
