COAL MINE TROUBLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 5, 6 January 1920, Page 7

COAL MINE TROUBLE.

PHEMHTR MAY TAKE ACTION. (ANOTHER CONFERENCE TALKED OF. JROSPECT- OF ACUTE SHORTAGE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) . ii WELLINGTON, Monday. } There was no change in connection r iwith the coal mining- dispute during the i r holidays, but it is reported that the | r miner? are threatening now to reduce j the output further. Mr. Massey hast been in comunication with both miners ] and owners. The miners demand' another confernce. but the owners, it is I understood, consider such a conference < unnecessary in view of the full and open i discussion which took place last. year, c They are willing, however, to meet the I miners' delegates again on certain condi- 1 tion> One is the pr ; or resumption of r 1 normal working methods. If the dis- i pute be not settled in the near future •■ th.c people of New Zealand are likely to : 1 Euffer ft very acute shortage of coal next winter. Accumulation of stocks < under the present conditions is scarcely i possible, and most large consumers of ' coa! are living from hand to mouth at > the present time. j I The officers of the Miners" Federation ' have reason to know that the miners' ; unions are setting tired of reduced wages, while on the other hand the mine 1 owners feel that they cannot tolerate J the in.ie'irtiie continuance of present con- ; drtions. The miners have threatened to ' reduce their output still further, with ' the object of forcing a settlement of the . kind they desire, and the mine owners are prepared in that event to close the 11 mines until normal methods of are resumed. j