The crux of the situation seems to be that the
men are demanding a high minimum wage which the owners cannot agree to if they preserve the present principle of profit sharing. For if they did so they would be in the position of giving the men a high percentage of profit, if there was any, and of not being able to mitigate any loss by sharing it also with the men. This would be an impossible " Heads you win, tails I lose " situation, and it has been suggested in some quarters (notably in the New Statesman) that the men should abandon the profit- sharing principle altogether—for which it is said they do not really care—and concentrate on the demand for the high minimum wage, which the owners might be able to concede if they had not also to share hypothetical profits. We may add here that, owing to the con- tinuance of the Southampton shipyard strike, the owners have decided in principle upon a national lock-out. They have, however, adjourned the conference with the men till next Tuesday without fixing the date of the stoppage. So the hope is not yet quenched that the union leaders may yet be able to influence the Southampton strikers.
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