On This Day, 30 July 1918

Birmingham Daily Gazette

Tuesday 30 July 1918

WORK IN FULL SWING.

HOW THE MUNITION STRIKE ENDED IN MIDLANDS.

NO TRAM STRIKE.

The Minister of Munitions announces that work having been generally resumed in Birmingham and Coventry he proposes immediately to appoint the Committee of Inquiry whose terms of reference he recently announced.

The Trade Union Advisory Committee are being summoned to meet on 31 July at 3.30pm. in order that they may nominate their representatives.

So far as the Midlands are concerned, the embargo strike is at an end, and this morning will see the whole of the factories in full swing again.

The majority of the workers in the Birmingham district loyally fulfilled the conditions of the resolution passed at Sunday’s mass meeting and restarted yesterday, but some confusion existed in the minds of some of the local strikers as to the validity of the decision, and late in the afternoon the Joint Committee issued a statement that the instructions to resume at 9.a.m. yesterday were issued to them.

COVENTRY MEN GOING IN.

Inquiries at the Electric Supply Department, Dale-end, where the employees decided to refrain from coming to a decision until to-night, elicited the opinion from an official that there did not appear to be the slightest danger of a strike being declared to-night.

As was expected Coventry followed the lead of Birmingham. After the largest mass meeting held during the dispute, a section of the workers returned to work immediately after dinner, while every effort was made by the shop stewards at the local works to recall all who had left the city for their homes.

A large proportion of the munition workers at Coventry had gone there since the war, but the local Trade Union officials believed that the arrangements made would result in a general resumption this morning.

THE CONDITIONS OF PEACE.

Finally 12,000 workers attended the mass meeting at the City Football Ground, where the decision arrived at by the Joint Committee of the local A.S.E., A.T.S., and S.E.M., on Sunday night was confirmed. The resolution, to which only about 20 or 30 dissented, read:

After having given serious consideration to the proposal of the Trade Union Advisory Committee, which has been members of the A.S.E., the A.T.S (Toolmakers), and the Steam Engine Workers, agree to accept the Committee of Inquiry as a means of settling the present dispute, and will resume work forthwith on the understanding that the Committee will be set up immediately, and will include local representatives of the above societies, and also that the Government will withhold their threatened action in regard to calling-up notices, and that no victimisation of individuals shall take place.