1 APRIL 1922, Page 3

On Wednesday the employers posted lock-out notices for the members

of the forty-seven unions, apparently in order to place all the unions in the Shipbuilding and Engineering Trades Federation on the same footing. The notices will expire next Wednesday. The mediators nevertheless continue their labours, not without hope of success. It is believed that the union leaders are at variance on methods of procedure. The Amalga- mated Engineering Union has always been unwilling to co- operate with other unions, and its independent attitude is probably the chief source of difficulty in these negotiations.