There is a good chance that the national shipyard lock-out
will soon come to an end. About 300 of the Southampton strikers have gone back, and there seem to be obvious signs of weakening on the part of the others. This is due to the intervention on Tuesday of the General Council of the Trade Union Congress and also, no doubt, to the fact that the Cunard Company managed to get the ' Mauretania ' towed off to Cherbourg and have now received plenty of applications from men who wish to refit her. The T.U.C. induced the strikers to vote by an overwhelming majority for an immediate conference with the employers. Meanwhile the ship- -building industry in the country seems to be less held up than might have been expected. Apparently the 'yards can carry on for some time without the particular engineers who have been locked out. Thus it is to be hoped that the practical effect of the dispute will be 1 .ss serious than was at one time feared.
* * * *
Previous page
