Women Cigarette Workers, Towel Makers, Hospital Nurses, and Pedicab Men Quite a number of labour disturd-ances have occurred in the past two lays. N About 150 women cigarette hand-packers employed at the Tobacco Products Corporation, 50 Yulin Road struck work early on Tuesday morning as a protest against the action fof a forewoman who is alleged to have slapped the face of an up-prentice the previous day. Work was resumed, however, the same day after the management had cautioned the forewoman against striking employees in future, Towel-Makers Out Strikes evidently are the fashion of the moment in Shanghai. It is. stated that recently there has been 4 marked depression in the towel-making trade, and in the absence of eny better reason being put forward it must be assumed that the ong spell of cold weather has less ened the passion for washing. In any ease the depression has become serious that the proprietor of the Three Stars Towel Company in Chapel felt compelled to reduce his employees' wages by 5 per cent. the employees did not like this and so, and much argument follow-Ed, but the proprietor was adamant. and insisted that, if people insisted on cutting down their towel bill, he must reduce wages.
So the towel makers went out on strike. They have formed the Associated Union of Towel Makers, Bvillers and Embroiderers, and even if people suddenly should r2- acquire their one-time passion for accumulating towels, they vow they will not go back to work unless they get not only the 5 per: cent, that hax been knocked off, but various other percentages in addition, the figures varying from day to day and from meeting to meeting.
The proprietor went to extremes. Evidently there is some arrange. ment by which towel makers are fed as well as paid, for the information given out is' chat the proprietor "has ordered his cook to stop the supply of food to the strikers." That made an impression and the strikers are complaining that now: they are existing only on one or two: pieces of bread a day—size and weight not stated. Yet they are firm—the strikers, not the pieces of bread—and so for the time being there are no towels for those who do not want them.
On Tuesday represent strikers visited the offices of the Central Labour Society in Kweichow Road and asked for help. Handbills explaining the grievances of the workers have also been distributed.
The company is anxious to replace strikers by new hand= and has al ready engaged 10 men at the works at 783 Ward Roa.
One hundred pedicab coolies, who gruntled "over the dismissal of a manager named Tsiang Pan-yoong, have now been on trike since Sut day. These men refuse tw return their work and with the exception. OF 20 are still out om <trike.
Sdme trouble was also experienced
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