The three ironmoulders' Unions, on a ballot last week, refused
once more to accept the terms which their leaders had made for them with the Engineering Employers' Federation, with the help of the Executive of the Trade Union Congress. The leaders, thus repudiated for a second time, asked the 9,831 men who voted for resuming work not to break away from the 18,718 men who voted for continuing this wholly unwarrantable strike. This week, however, Mr. Henderson and his colleagues thought it wise to summon a fresh Conference of their Union delegates. The ironmoulders ought to find leaders who really represent them and who are qualified to negotiate on their behalf. The strike has been prolonged for many weeks, and has caused great loss to thousands of workmen in the engineering trades, mainly because the ironmoulders are not properly organized. The men's new demand for an inquiry into the conditions of their industry deserves consideration, but they did not need to strike in order to show that ironmoulding is a skilled and arduous trade.
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