"INCONSISTENT"

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 164, 13 July 1945, Page 6

"INCONSISTENT"

m. BISHOP CHARGED

VORKERS ANSWER PROTEST

WELLINGTON, this day.

Replying to yesterday's statement y the Coal Mine Owners' Associaion, Mr. F. Crook, acting-secretary f the United Mine Workers of New lealand, said that Mr. T. O Bishops bjection to Mr. Prendiville fpllowng a precedent set by Mr, Bishop dmself when he was a member of he Coal, Mines Council was comiletPly blown out 2 ' when it was aised on a former occasion, and it ared no better this time. At yeserday's sitting of the council, Mr. Jishop admitted that while a memler of the councilhe had himself cted as spokesman and advocate for he owners, and had then sat as a tiember of the council to decide disrtites on which he had already acted ;s the owner's advocate.

If any weight attached to Mr Jishop's statement, then he himself lad acted contrary to "all the ordilary rules of justice and fairness. Mr. Bishop was inconsistent in intending that the dispute in conlection with the miners' claim should >e referred to the Court of Arbitraion. At yesterday's sitting of the ioimcil he had to admit that for more han 20 years he had taken part in baking miners' agreements and setling mining disputes outside of , the of Arbitration. Now he. con-r ended that the procedure of a whole feneration was wrong, but did not iay-how or why it was wrong.

"He is again inconsistent in saying hat an agreement made by decision if the Coal Mines Council cannot be 'aried during the period for which k was made," added Mr. Crook. "As ie is so recent a convert to the Court »f Arbitration, he may not yet have liscovered that the Court itself on i number of occasions has varied the '.ates prescribed in awards and agree-, hents during the period of their cur'ency. He should have known though hat the miners' application for an ncrease arose out of the recent ilteration of awards and agreements >f that very kind."

; (Mr. Bishop's statement appears on ?age 8).