Strike Collapses
p. 26 · Read in the full issue
Food Anxiety Lessens
Australian Waterside Strike Collapses
A S this journal went to press, in the second week of February, the Australian wharfies’ strike, after 3 weeks’ sparring between Watersiders Federation, Australian Council of Trade Unions, shipowners, Federal Arbitration Court and Com monwealth Government, collapsed.
Work resumed in ports on February 15. Vessels trading to the Pacific Islands will have a priority for labour but it is expected that they will not sail until late February.
As Australia is an important source of foodstuffs, there was some panic buying in most of the South west Pacific Islands in late January.
A survey in Papua and New Guinea on January 26 showed six weeks’ supply of essential foodstuffs on hand; while Malekula, Soochow and Shansi, which got away from Sydney just before the strike, were bringing in large cargoes of food.
There was sufficient meat in the freezers for 35 days, and more could be sent by air from Cairns, or killed locally.
There was some panic in P-NG about baby-food. Authorities warned that there was no immediate short age, and supplies could come in by air if needed. But panic buying could create a shortage.
However, news of the strike’s imminent collapse allayed anxiety in most Island centres.
The story behind the strike ..has yet to be told. It was expected that, when this aggressive, Com munist led union tried to dislocate all Australian transport and in dustry, the Commonwealth Govern ment would move in smartly to smash it, and restore some sort of order to the waterfront. But, to the astonishmemt of the public, the ACTU, usually Rightist and anti- Red, announced support of the strike: and the Government did nothing.
Quite unexpectedly, on February 8, when it looked like a long and bitter war, the ACTU reversed its policy and withdrew support of the strike. Without ACTU, the strikers knew they had no chance of success.
It is now supposed that the ACTU was manoeuvred into strike support by some underhand political moves; and that the Government, knowing this, held its hand until the Rightist majority within the ACTU could get control of the situation. t Rangomatane Ariki, chief of Atiu Is., and Manea Tamarua, AMP, are the chosen Cook Islands delegates to the South Pacific Conference to be held in Suva in April-May, and Apenera Short and Mr. Ron Thorby will accompany them as Cook Islands advisers.