ALL SATISFIED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 134, 8 June 1932, Page 3

ALL SATISFIED.

CO-OPERATIVE COLLIERY. POSITION AT WARO. REVIEW BY SIR G. ELLIOT. The difficulties that were met with in operating the Waro coal mine and the circumstances that led up to the coal miners being invited to operate the mine themselves were referred to to-day by Sir George Elliot, at the annual meeting of Wilsons (N.Z.) Portland Cement Company. He said negotiations were pending for a renewal of the existing agreement. ""In 1920, owing to the great difficulty in obtaining coal for Portland, the company purchased the mine from the Northern Coal Company, Ltd., and for some years coal was won at a reasonable cost, although even in the early days, there was a tendency on the part of the men to take up the attitude that the cement works must have the coal and would pay any price for it," said Sir George. "Costs began to rise, and month by month grew higher. Operation of the mine was punctuated by strike after strike, for trivial reasons, and notwithstanding frequent conferences with the minors, in which directors did everything possible to meet their demands, the policy of reduced output and increasing cost made Waro coal (he dearest in the market.

Threat To Close Mine. "Finally the miners were warned that, unless they discontinued their irritating tactics the company had no option other than to close down the mine and accept cheaper coal supplies which were freely offering. No notice was taken of this warning, and last August the miners once more went on strike, ostensibly to support a man whom the company felt would make no real attempt to earn the minimum wage. AVithout an hour's notice the men left their work, including even the safety men, and the company's staff was left to save what they could of the pumping plant. After strenuous work this was accomplished without any help of the minors, who then became aware that the company no longer desired their services, as coal could be obtained cheaper from other mines. "Miners and others in the district," continued Sir George, "then recognised as the result of their strike that cessation of our mine meant, within a fewweeks, the abandon mont of the whole Hikurangi field and the complete ruin of the Hikurangi township. At that stage, and in view of the general unemployment problem of the country, the, then Minister of Mines arranged a visit of three M.P.'s, who after discussing the. whole matter with the directors, learnt the facts of the case and proceeded to Hikurangi to interview the miners.

Company's Patience." "The men realised that the company's great patience was at an end, and that some new plan must be faced. The company declared it could no longer economically work the mine under the tiresome conditions imposed by the Miners' Union, but offered the mine and plant, without any charge whatever, to a cooperative party for a period of one year, incidentally agreeing to take 800 tons per week of coal at a given price, and even to loan the party £1000 for preliminaries, repayable by a deduction of 1/ per ton on the coal received. The members of Parliament frankly stated that they considered this an unusual and most generous offer, and public opinion endorsed that sentiment, but the men were so bent on coercing the company that they at first lost sight of their own interests in protracted discussions. "Finallv they were really convinced that the "company had adequate other sources of coal supply considerably cheaper, and was at last indifferent as to whether its own mine worked or not," concluded Sir George. "In the end the members of Parliament arranged an agreement, and the Waro Co-operative Colliery, Ltd., operated by the men's leaders, accepted the company's offer, and has carried on work ever since, quite to the satisfaction of the Cement Company."