MINES IDLE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 263, 19 August 1936, Page 3

MINES IDLE

DAY’S STOPPAGE IN WAIKATO. THE MEN DISCUSS DISPUTES. DESIRE FOR A SETTLEMENT. rf»er Press Association.) AUCKLAND, August 18. No work was done at the Renown, Glen Afton, and Rotowaro mines to-day, when the 700 men employed attended a §erieS of meetings at Huntly and at the mines to discuss points that are in dispute with their employers. It was decided after a long discussion to resume work tomorrow, pending further negotiations with the employers and with the national organisation concerned with the hearing of disputes. The meetings held to-day were prolonged but orderly, and the decision to return to work was unanimous. Work was not interrupted at either the Pukemiro or Wilton mines. “We received no notification that there was going to be a stoppage and we do not know what it is about,” said the president of the New Zealand Coal Mine Owners’ Association .(Mr W. D. Holgate), when asked whether he could throw any light on the action of the Waikato miners. Mr Holgate explained that a conference was held in Wellington last month between the Mine Owners’ Association and the United Mine Workers’ Union, when the owners were told that the men desired to have the wages and condi ions of 1931 restored. The! next day legislation on this point was passed, and representatives of the workers were again met. It was agreed that the 1931 wages and conditions were to be! restored, and it was understood that the agreement would remain in force until the end of this year. Stop-work Meetings. “Since then, there have been innumerable stop-work meetings, which have disoorganised our business very considerably,” said Mr Holgate. In fact, the business of the companies has been disorganised in this way duung the last two or three months. We have never been given any reasons. \» e have heard rumours, but we cannot take any notice of these. Now thei men in three of the mines laupni, Glen Afton, and llenown—are not working, and we still do not know why.” Mr Holgate said that all agreements were made by the mine owners with the miners’ Dominion organisation, and it was not customary to negotiate with the men in any one district. No request had been made by the "V\ aikato miners for a conference since the 1931 rates were restored. He said that the owners bad never refused to meet the men in conference and the men knew that if they ever wanted to meet the owners, they only had to make application through the United Mine Workers’ Union to the Mine Owners Association. . . Mr Holgate, added that the Taupiri Company had received a telephone message from its manager at 12.30 p.m. saying that the men had notified him that they would be back at work on Wednesday morning. Coal Dealers Prepared. It is apparent that the present stoppage was not entirely unexpected in the coal trade in the city. Several of the city coal merchants said that occasional stqppages had led them to believe that there might be trouble in the mines, and they had taken the precaution of obtaining additional stocks of coal. They would thus he able to fill orders for some time, even if the mines were closed down. ; A statement covering the miners’ attitude and explaining the reasons for their ceasing work to-day, was made by Mr T. Hall, jun., secretary of the Northern Coal Mine Industrial Union of Workers. “In the last six months we have had six disputes not covered by the existing agreement,” Mr Hall said. “Under a clause in the agreement we are entitled to demand what is called a disputes committee to be set uj> representing both the employers and employees for discussing points in dispute. Failing a decision, there is the right to appoint an independent chairman, whose decision is final. Approach to Employers. “We have approached the Coal Mine Owners’ Association three times in the last five weeks, asking that they should meet us and discuss matters not covered by the agreement. On Saturday, wie received a definite reply from Mr T. 0. Bishop, secretary of the New Zealand Coal Mine Owners’ Association, that they were not prepared to meet us. We went to work yesterday because we had decided that failing a favourable reply from the Coal Mine Owners’ Association we should stop the mines this morning to discuss the matter. We notified the mine owners to that effect a week ago. _ “It is in no sense a strike,” said Mr Hall, “but because of the mines and mine owners being scattered, a day off is required to get round all the members organised in the district. “A meeting was held in the railway station this morning, and it was intended to go to work to-day, in spite of the previous decision, but the meeting was so prolonged that the trains and buses left for the mines without the men. By this evening, the whole of the members of the union had reached one decision—to return to work to-morrow, pending further negotiations. “The points it was proposed to bring before the disputes committee related, to the payment of miners engaged in assisting truckers in the Renown mine, this work not being covered by the agreement, and the payment of miners at the McDonald mine at Glen Afton engaged in drawing timber, which is the miners’ term for removing props in a pillar retreat.”