10 DECEMBER 1927, Page 2

Australia has been suffering from another strike of the waterside

workers. About 35,000 were " out " and about 130 ships were affected: The cause of dispute was the old trouble of overtime. In the strike of 1924, the Waterside Workers' Federation refused to allow men to work after 5 p.m., though it was not really so much concerned about the hours as about its- own attempt to force the employers to obtain all their labour from the Federation. That dispute, like many others, was ended by an award of the Arbitration Court, but the award has been disregarded by the - workers. The overtime question has again been only the immediate pretext of dispute ; the employers wanted to bring to a test the whole . question of obedience to Arbitral awards. • .

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