Oxygen Men At Work Today

From Our Labour Correspondent

The employees of British Oxvgen Gases, whose strike began on Monday last week, will all return to work today without conditions, and with them will go a large proportion of the 60,000 employed in motor manufacturing and other industries who have been rendered idle because supplies of oxygen were cut off. More workers were laid off yesterday before the decision was known, and it was evident that the effects of the strike would have spread rapidly this week if it had not been called off. Even as it is, production in some firms will continue to be dislocated for several days.

A spokesman for the British Motor Corporation said that most of the 30,000 men laid off would be able to resume today, though it would be some time before they were back to normal production. All workers at the Austin factory, where 11,000 have been idle, were told to report for work today. All workers on the Oxford and Wolseley lines and the Morris Minor night shift were asked to report for work today at the Morris Motors factory at Cowley. Other lines will resume tomorrow morning.

At the Pressed Steel car body factory at Cowley, where about 8,000 have been idle, work is to start today except in three press shops and the shears department. The company's Swindon factors will restart today. At Coventry the Standard Motor Companv, with 1,000 idle, announced that normal work would be resumed today.