On Wednesday the lock-out in the shipbuilding trade came to
an end after lasting for nearly fifteen weeks. On two
occasions the terms which had been agreed upon by repre- sentatives of the employers and men were rejected on being referred to a ballot of the Boilermakers' Society. The settle- ment that has been accepted seems to make but little altera- tion in the conditions of the trade, except that it provides that employers or men who break the working agreement are to be dealt with by their respective organisations. The cost of the dispute in wages alone is estimated at nearly 2800,000. Although we cannot think that the protracted stoppage of work has in reality been to the men's advantage, we feel bound to express our admiration for the manner in which they have conducted the dispute, which in this respect provides such a contrast with the strike in the Welsh coalfields. The behaviour of the boilermakers during the last three months is a model for the manner in which "direct action" should be employed, if it is employed at all. And we cannot help thinking that an occasional conflict of this kind is perhaps inevitable, if only for the purpose of bringing home to employers the fact that their men must always be handled with care and consideration.
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