MINERS' DISPUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 269, 12 November 1937, Page 9

MINERS' DISPUTE.

INTO THE FOURTH DAY.

THE ENGINEDRIVERS' AWARD,

.Already the hearing of application* for award* for certain goldmining ' unions at. present before the Arbitration ! ( mirt ha* taken twice as long as was iint ieipHtocl. ' ( These applications were those of the miners, carpenters, enginedi ivers and j engineers at the Martha Goldmining , ( unipany (Waihi), Ltd., the miners at t ilie (Jolden Dawn mine, and certain 1 'lliam.es miners. The original time set down for the hearing was two days. 1 To-day is the fourth day. and the appli- < nit ion resumed this morning was only s Hip second of the four. ; The miners' dispute was finished yes- 1 lerda.v, and that heard to-day was the ' application of the South Auckland ' Knginedrivers, Winders. Motormen and 1 Firemen's I'nion, brought for the union I members employed bv the Martha mine. 1 Mr. Justice O'Regan presided, and with 1 him were Messrs. A. L. Monteith and W. 1 Cecil I'riine' Mr. James Roberts, of > Wellington, appeared for the union, and ! Mr. li. <}. Milligan for the Martha Com- 1 puny. I Duties of Union Members. ' Mr. Milligan gave evidence to-day of * the various duties of the employees in I the union. He did not think the work 1 required special qualification*. i Speaking of pumping operations, he 1 sr.id that de-watering cost about £70110 ' a year, or 8d per ton of ore crushed. "We ' expect to abandon No. 14 level toward 1 Ihe end of next year." he said, "and pumping probably will then be quite different from now." Mr. Milliwatt was cross-examined at length by Mr. Roberts, towards the end of which his Honor remarked, "You cannot see eye to eye." Phe union's claim for wages ranged from 20/ for drivers required to hold < »ieam or electric winding certificates, to 22/ for firemen and cleaners. The counter proposals of the company were 2(1/10 for winders to 17/.1 and 17' for . firemen and cleaners. A five-dav 40-hour week was also claimed, but. the company wanted the right to wt>rk on Saturdays. Questioned about the transport of ore. Mr. Milligan said that, if the Court winhed, the company would be prepared to give a five-dav 40-hour week a two months' trial in the transport of ore I from the mine to the battery. Any difficulties which might have arisen during the past year, stated Mr. Milligan, in his final address, had Wen because the agreement was framed for a. 44-hour week and not for a 40-hour week. The object of any award should lie to provide reasonable conditions for workers without hampering the industry. The claims of the union fell far short of it. Mr. Milligan then dealt with the union's claims in detail. As regard* 1 hours of work, he said that shift hours had never been fixed in the case of the union, nor could the company agree to the claim for payment for mealtime*. His submission was that Saturday work 1 \va« essential under a 40-liour week. Power, pumping and transport were necessary on a Saturday, and the union k'lew it. Annual Payment for Holidays. The company objected to the claim for annual holidays on pay, and payment for statutory holidays. The company had no means by which it could increase the price of its commodity, and whs therefore unable to recover costs incurred when no production was taking place. As far as wages were concerned, Mr. Milligan submitted that the standard of 1923-31 was the only sound basis for consideration. The present rates were those of 1931, adjusted to tha 40-hour week, and there could be no question as to their having been fixed on a proper basis. Statement Rebutted. Tn his review of the case, Mr. Roberts dealt first with shift work. He asked for regularity in that work, and for the retention of the system which had been in vogue for 30 years. He rebutted Mr. Milligan's statement that the qualifications needed were not high. Experience and qualifications were both necessary. The draft of the proposals, Mr. Roberts said, was taken mainly from the last Wellington award. Jf it was essential that men should have certificates as qualifications and if they hnd to have a medical examination to do their job, then the union had a clause asking that they should be paid for their work. Mr. Roberts said that wage rates now were<4he same as in 1925, when the price for gold was less than half what it is now.