The Railway Dispute After months of negotiations, at several stages of which it appeared that a general strike was immi ent, the railway workers and their employers are now nearing a final settlement of their dispute over wag jes. It is now almost certain that the result of many discussions will be Jo compromise, in which each side will give in a Tittle. Many of the terms of the settlement have yet to agreed upon before it takes its final form.
The dispute has been before in these columns.
Jout of the action of the Cana National and Canadian Pacific company officials in deducting ten Der cent. from. the wage enveloped of the employees beginning May 1 of this year, in addition to the ten. per cent. reduction from the basic rates which had been in effect since 1931." The men claimed Jat once that the second wage cut Was unfair and unnecessary, and made strenuous protest - through their representatives. A board of conciliation was setup under the Industrial Disputes Act, and. the findings were in' favour of the the "minority "report, leaded the case of age the men proceed-Jed to take a nation-wide vote on the question of a general strike, "and the returns showed a large majority in favour of such action. Before the strike was called it had to be ratified by the Union officials in the United States, with whom Canadian railway men are linked up; and in the meantime Premier Bennett urged both parties to the dispute to renew efforts towards reaching an agree: Tnent. 'This advice was heeded, a much finer spirit the compromise mentioned above was proposed. In {ts broad outline it is said to reduce the recent cut to one of five per cent, which is @ halfway mark for both' parti The points which have yet to be settled are how long this cut will be enforced before another adjustment is considered: Whether "the five per "cent, cut will be retroactive, that is, whether the men will recover the moneys that have been deducted from them singe "May"'1 on the ten per cent. cut" basi and whether, when the period of the sent cut ends," the full Yates of 1981 will become effective.
Meantime the chief point of inter-Jest to the public ig that no interrupt {ion of services in the form of a strike is contemplated. Further, the railways both report somewhat better business, as another sign that
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.