MINERS' STRIKE AVERTED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 8

MINERS' STRIKE AVERTED.

By a vote of 478,000 to 28,000 the Mineworkers' Federation, at a delegate conference in London on December 19, decided to fix January 27 as the date for a strike in all the coalfields unless wage proposals that satisfied the men's leaders were obtained in the meantime. To-day it is reported that the men, who had demanded an increase of 2/ per day, have decided tinder protest to accept the mine-owners' offer of 1/, and a strike which would have'injured all has been averted.

The workers' demand for better conditions has been the subject of negotiations for a considerable time, and has been supported by the public, even though it was realised that wage increases granted would be "passed on" to the consumer. The mine-owners endeavoured to secure the consent of customers with

contracts to, an increase in the price, but, as might have been expected, the. response was not wholly satisfactory. The men pressed the Government to subsidise wages, by a direct subsidy, or • a loan, or ,a. Government guarantee of a loan. This was refused-by the Government, which no doubt remembered the experience of 1926, when the expiration of the term of a Government subsidy was followed by a miners' strike, and : ultimately' by the general strike. • : . • ' , The miners have accepted, the increase of 1/ as "an instalment," pending 'the development of a coal-selling reorganisation schcme. Thus the settlement of the dispute cannot be regarded as more than temporary. The most encouraging sign is that during the negotiations the bitter estrangement of miners and coal-owners seems to have ended, and there is now a disposition to work together to solve the difficult problems of the industry.