Six thousand employees of the Nanyang Bros, Tobacco Co's. factories returned to work on Tuesday afternoon after striking for two days.
The management were surprised on Monday morning when a deputation of workers' representatives "called at the general offices and presented a series of demands intended to benefit the workers" of the company.
These demands were many and varied and included, among other things, claims for better pay and shorter hours, payment for overtime work, recognition of the "Nanyang Bros, Tobacco Ca. Workers' Union," monthly pay instead of payment by the day, an extra day's wage when there' are 81 days in the month, a building for the union and its upkeep. The workers also demanded that no employee should be dismissed for no apparent reason and that they should receive a falx amount of pay during illness A board meeting was called and sympathetic consideration—_was given by the directors to the demands of the workers. The only obstacle to a settlement, they said, was the demand for recognition of the union, The management could not do this, they declared, but they would recognize a workers' club and would be responsible for its upkeep. Other demands were met.
Realizing that" their employers had done everything in their power to meet their demands and finding that there was very little difference between a union and a club, the workers accepted the management's proposal for the establishment of a club, with. the result that a settlement was brought about and the men, as stated, returned to_work on Tuesday afternoon.
Tt is interesting, in connexion with this strike, to note that the employees all put in a regular appearance at their places, but simply refused to do their work.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.