BIG STORES STRIKE.

3,700 WORKERS OUT.

Some 3,700 employees of the Army and Navy Stores came out on strike yesterday to enforce the demand for better pay and working conditions, and some remarkable scenes were witnessed at the great establishment in Victoria-street.

The grievances of the workers are apparently of long standing, and the officials of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen, and Clerks, of which the vast majority of the strikers are members, state that they frequently endeavoured, but without success, to have the disputed points referred to arbitration.

Yesterday the stores were closely picketed. Departmental managers and a comparatively few assistants did their best to carry on, but in some sections business was at a standstill. The strikers have the support of other unions – the Electrical Workers, Vehicle Workers, and Bakers among them – and there is a threat that electric light will be cut off if there is any attempt to meet the situation by the use of voluntary labour. The strikers are demanding a 35 per cent increase in wages, a 44-hour week, wages during illness, payment for overtime and holidays, and representation on the management of the provident fund.

The Stores were open for business as usual yesterday, but only the departmental managers and a few other employees were in attendance. At ten o’clock the Stores were almost deserted, and it was possible to walk through many of the departments without finding anybody behind the counters. Outside the entrance a strong force of union pickets was in evidence, and they reported that those of the staff who belonged to the union had remained solidly out.

FROCK-COATED SERVERS.

At midday the Stores were still carrying on. Most of the departments were open, and there was a steady flow of customers. It was a novelty to see departmental managers in silk hats and frockcoats serving people with packets of notepaper, bottles of scent, and other articles. A number of foremen were also on duty in various departments, and a proportion of female employees had remained loyal to the firm, although one of the pickets declared that the number was insignificant in comparison with the total. Most of those on duty were not members of the union. Several hundred more became members during the day, sent in ballot-papers in favour of the strike, and at once ceased work. The factory and auxiliary section behind the Stores was closed up entirely, all the hands being out with the exception of the gate attendants. A crowd of strikers outside the Stores declared that, they were “waiting for the blacklegs to come out.” The union officials advised them not to create disorder or to demonstrate against those who were carrying on. The strikers cheered the advice of an elderly gentleman to “stick it out.” He said he was a large shareholder, but his sympathies were with them. There were a few altercations and arguments between the pickets and some of the shareholders. One picket was told by an angry customer to “take that dirty label off your arm,” and that he was trying to Germanise this country. “You are wrong, sir,” was the reply. “It is the directors who are trying German methods.”

The strikers contend that owing to the complicated nature of the society’s business it will be impossible for the Stores to continue by emergency arrangements. Customers may be served, they say, with small purchases to take away themselves, but it will be impossible to supply those living in the country and London suburbs who are registered with the Stores for rationed goods. The car men and warehouse staffs are with the strikers, it is claimed, and the delivery of goods has been practically stopped. The Vehicle Workers’ Union are actively supporting the strike, and the car men employed at the Stores who are members are taking steps to prevent the transportation of goods to and fro. Yesterday afternoon several carts which were delivering goods to the Stores were turned back by the pickets. There was an increasing desire on the part of the customers and shareholders arriving at the Stores to ascertain the facts of the dispute, and the pickets were bombarded with questions as to their demands. In many cases a sympathetic attitude was adopted, and some surprise was expressed when the amount of the wages was stated.