News items about other Labour Governments (1947)

From the April 1947 issue of the Socialist Standard

AUSTRALIA.

  “Australia’s industrial unrest has come to a head with the decision by 76 federal trade unions representing virtually all union members in the nation to hold a general strike on May 1st unless their claims are met. This will be a one-day affair as the opening shot in a "direct action” campaign to enforce demands for higher wages and better conditions.”

   "The conference also favoured complete abolition of wage-pegging regulations, an investigation of commodity prices and action against black marketing in essential commodities. It resolved that its decisions regarding wages should again be placed before the Government as the minimum demands of the trade unions.”

(“Sunday Times,” February 9th, 1947.)

NEW ZEALAND.

    “A strike on the waterfront, lasting a few days, was ended by agreement with the Government and the Federation of Labour, but the cause of the strike remains—a claim by waterside workers’ unions for a five-day week—and trouble may recur any time. If it does, and the threatened split in the Labour front comes to pass, Labour may well be thrown out of office at the next election. As it is, the Government has a bare majority—42 to 38 in a House of 80. . . . The poll was heavy and so evenly divided between the parties—half a million or so each—that Labour had only about 30,000 majority in the million."

("Manchester Guardian,” February 17th, 1947 )

FRANCE.

   The French Government is a coalition of several parties, including the Labourites and Communists, under a Labour Prime Minister.

   Recently a strike of civil servants, post office workers and the police took place. The sequel is related below by the "Daily Telegraph" (February 19th, 1947):—

  “Declaring that the assembly must enact laws to limit the right to strike, he (Prime Minister Ramadier) announced that the Cabinet would shortly present the draft of such a law to Parliament. 'The first French anti-strike law which will ever have been enacted must limit in a precise manner the right to strike of employees on which public security depends'."