ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE.

Although the strike at Wembley is an unofficial one, and the men will not receive strike pay from their union, there is no doubt that the trouble has arisen from the action of their Federation in stopping overtime, as a counter to the employers’ refusal to grant the operatives an increase of 2d an hour. At last Friday’s meeting of the Joint Overtime Committee, set up by the London Master Builders’ Association and the London District Committee of the National Federation of Building Trades Operatives, the representatives of the latter body refused to allow their members to work overtime any longer, except on housing schemes, safety, and national health work. This decision caused extreme dissatisfaction amongst the operatives at Wembley, a large number of whom have two homes to support. Some of them come from Scotland, Ireland, and the North of England, and unless they receive overtime pay it is not worth their while to work at Wembley. Many men have indeed already returned to their homes, and are not likely to come back to Wembley.

The refusal to allow overtime work in an urgent case, such as that of the Exhibition, is a distinct breach of the agreement between the employers’ and the operatives’ federations, Mr. Ernest J. Brown, director of the London Master Builders’ Association, yesterday told a representative of The Daily Telegraph. The men, he stated, have been suddenly deprived of ten hours’ overtime a week at time and a quarter rates of pay. A skilled mechanic had hitherto been getting £3 13s 4d a week, plus 6s a week expenses allowance, with overtime amounting to £1 0s 10d, making a total weekly sum of £5 0s 2d. Labourers received £2 15s, 6s expenses, and 15s 7½d overtime – a total of £3 16s 7½d.

“The action of the men’s Federation in withdrawing all overtime permits is undoubtedly a rejoinder to the refusal of the employers to grant a rise of 2d an hour all over the country,” Mr. Brown stated. “My own opinion is that this trouble has made it very much more difficult for the Exhibition to be opened by the date fixed, when it is considered that some 12,000 or 14.000 men ceased work, if only for a day. Unless a sufficient number are back at work very promptly it does not appear to me that there is any chance of the Exhibition being ready on April 23.”