In the shipbuilding industry the employers last week offered to
make the desired reduction of the war bonus by 16s. 6d. it week in two stages-10s. 6d. from Wednesday, March 29th, and 6s. from April 26th—leaving the question of the remaining 10s. to be discussed later. The shipbuilding unions decided to take a ballot of their members on this proposaL They urged the employers to postpone the first reduction, as the ballot could not be completed by Wednesday, but the employers declined to do so. The unions therefore ordered their members to cease work on Tuesday night, thus copying the tactics of the engineering employers. The result of the ballot is to be made known next Monday. It seems a great pity that in both these eases differences of opinion which must be compromised in the end could not have been settled amicably without resort to a lock-out or a strike. A very grave responsibility rests on anyone in these days who, for whatever reasons, increases the amount of unemployment in the country.
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