THE OTIRA TUNNEL

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13191, 11 August 1908, Page 8

THE OTIRA TUNNEL

POSITION OF LABOUR. AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION. (bt our special reportee.) .Strikes and rumours of strikes air.oug tho men employed on the Arthur's Pass tunnel workings at Otira and Bcaley have occupitni n considerable amount of public attention during tho past few mouths. Scarcely a week has passed without soino indtistrial disturbance at the tunnel being reported. Tho alleged causes of strife have been multitudinous, and at this distancefrom tho .scene of operations it is perhaps difficult to discriminate between the trivial and the serious. Grievances which may soom paltry to the outsider are regarded with deadly earnestness by tho tunnel worker, and he declines to look upon any of his complaints as ono that could bo lightly dismissed., i'ho opinion formed by a ''Prcsa ,, reporter, who made an independent investigation of the position at Otira, is that the industrial atmosphere is decidedly electrical. Among a largo pro-, portion of the men tlioro is a simmering feeling of discontent, which may at any time culminate in seething rebellion "and the invocation of strike law. The principal causes of dissatisfaction, according to the men, aro:—

(1) The unsatisfactory hut accommodation ;

(2) Insufficiency of wages; (3) The tyrannical conduct of certain officials;

(4) The '-insecurity of tenure" of an employee in his position, owing to the prevalence of wholesale "sacking"; (o) Bad. ventilation of the tunnel. The following account deals seriatim with these aJdegations, and the present position in regard to them:— Complaints in regard . to the- huts were much more general a few weeks ago, and this matter is not now a very serious casus belli. An inspection of some of the h-uts showed that thero had been some ground for complaint, though, under the circumstances, the contractors (who erect the huts) can hardly be blamed. The huts are built of timber, and roofed with maltlioid. It was an unfortunate circumstance that when the huts were erected only wet timber was available. The result was that the timber contracted when dry, and gaps wero left between the wall and noor boards, giving admission to wind and rain. The roofing, it is also claimed, was entirely unsuitaiblo for the climate, and the men declare tF;iat tinio after fcinve the rain has burst through, soaking their bed cloth« and stor?s. This complaint, it may bo explained, is now being cisposod or in a propyl , tn.shion. A carpenter has been detailed by xbo contractors to remedy the defects, ami this practical attention has already accomplished muoh. It should also be stated that some of the men dirl not wait for any assistance from the contractor, but set to work themselves to make their "shacks" haibitable. Tho contractors allowed.theni the necessary timber without charge, and professed their readiness to assist as far as lay in their power any man wlw> dosirod to improve his habitation. Some-;of Ihe improved huts were inspected, and t>o reporter found them oesy and comfortable, though the temperature outside was not far above freezing point. Some of the men had battened up the gaps caused by shrinkage, and had lined the interior of their huts with scrim, intending to further improve them .with wall paper at some, future date. On the other hand, many men refused to do anything to their huts in the way of effecting improvements, giving as a i eason tlhat it -was not worth their while to do co on account of tho unsecurity of their tenure, in view of tho wholesale "sacking" which was going on. The second cause of dissatisfaction--alleged insufficiency of wages—is, strangely enough, tho one on which least stress is placed by the men. On tho whole, it may safely bo said that very few of them aro dissatisfied with tho wages now paid, though, needless to say, they are quite willing to take any increase whioli may bo either conceded by the contractors, or awarded by the Arbitration Court.

The wages paid at Otira rule as-fol-lows: —Shift boss« 3 12s, machine men 11s, chuck men (assistant to machine men) 10k 6d, shovellers (or truckers) 10s, leading carpenters 14s, ordinary carponters 12s, fitters 12s, blacksmith 13s 4d, tool sharpeners lie, general labourers 10s. At the- x>ealoy the- following scale rules: —Hammer and drill men 10s Gd, ordinary labourers 10s, carpenters 12s, bushmem Hβ, blacksmith andi tool sharpeners Hβ, shifb boss lls 6d. Tho claims put forward by the men ask for 11s Bd' for machine men, 11* for chuokers, and Hβ for , shovellers. There are claims for time and a "half for overtime, and double time on Sundays. There is not, however, a general discontent with tiro or- , dinary scale of wages, though some definite arrangement in regard to overtime and work on Saturday afternoons mul Sundays is urged by tho men. The men seem to bo quite satisfied that their claims for increases in wages arc to be considered first by tho Conciliation Board, and they will probably mention their dispute at the next sitting of the Board, which is expected to take place on the 20th inst. Whether tho employors will consent to go to the Conciliation Board is another matter on which no definite information -was available. On the question of wages, one of the raon, who said lie was aware of the temper of his fellow workers, said that there was no probability of a general strike before the Conciliation Board cWlt -with the case, and that tho probabilities were that in thd event of th« Board's decision not being accepted, tho Arbitration Court would , be invoked. The complaint alleging tyrannical conduct on the part of some of the officials, who may bo described in military , parlance as "non-commissioned," is absolutely the strongest made by tho men, md there, is the bitterest feeling on this matter. In fact there is an "unsafe" feeling: instances of reprisals are not unknown at either Otira or the Bealey. An unpopular "boss' was recently beaten within an inch of l<. 'm life at Otira by two men. At the Be-aley a "boesf' who bad made himself obnoxious was hounded out of hi> hut in the early hours of the morn ing by infuriated underlings, and pursued until ho took refuge in the bueh. Threats are made to "wait for" the '•niggerdrivers," and there arc already re<x>rde of sanguinary fights, in which the contestants abandoned their natural means of defence and offence, and. kicked, scratched, and even bit one another until pulled apart by their mates. This affair, and others of like description, arose out of alleged tyrannical conduct on. the part of a "boss." For some considerable time there was great friction with the ehift bosses, but at present relations eppear to be fairly amicable. There is, however, a very strong feeling against ojj» of the tunnel officers, but it is extremely difficult to determine how far the existence of this antagonism is justified. The men complain that they are sworn at and- abused in an intolerable fashion, tvhiie, on. the other hand, it is claimed that there is nothing really objectionable^—that, in fact, tho language used is in the "Tunne! vernacular." The reporter asked for and got a sample. It was., to any th»> least, objoctioiieblo.' and tvrtaitily uujprintablf.

The complaint as to insecurity of tenure on account of the existence of wholesale sacking hangs very largely on a determination of the matter previously dealt with. It is unquestionable that an extraordinarily large number of men have "gone through" the works but it would bo ftlle to contend that all, or even a large majority, were practical tunnel hands. Tho works at Otira catch all classes, from the efficient worker to the hopeless failure who is swagging it to or from the Coast, and wants a few shillings to help him along. The good man is taken on, aiui !ia3 at least a chance of getting a permanency—or thinks ho has. Iho casual wanderer with the swag stays only long enough to earn his few shillings, and if he has not been "fired" previously for inefficiency, he probably leaves in the course ot a few days. But the complaint is not made in regard to tho latter class of man. ft is alleged that good men are ordered off at a minute's notice, at the mere caprice or fancy of the person in charge. a man may have been working for only a clay or two. and may have purchased stores and clothes in anticipation of remaining in steady employment at Otira. .his anticipations are "nipped in the bud," and ho departs from Oura a poorer man, or else leaves the storeKeopoT unpaid. Tho latter alternative, according to local gossip, is not infrequently adopted. Tho justice of the complaint is questioned by tho otUer side, but there is undoubtedly a very strong feeling about this matter. In order that no injustice should be done it should be stated that tho men'generally show a very sincere regard for the contractors, personally, and their engineers, and they express a belief that if those gentlemen were fully aware of the presence of this particular evil a remedy would bo found. As far as tho reporter could learn,, no formal complaint had been mado to the contractors in regard to this matter. Tho complaint in regard to the extreme discomfort caused by the absence of any ventilating apparatus is also \'ery strongly by the men. The rock at the working face of the heading is blasted with gelignite, and there is great difficulty in getting rid of the smoke and fumes. Tho grade of the tunnel is lft in 33ft upwards, and therefore the .smoke cannot naturally rise and float out of the workings. The men do not attack the face after an explosion until thirty or forty minutes have elapsed, and are not expected to do so if the fumes and smoke have not cleared away sufficiently. But even after that time has elapsed men have suffered, it is alleged, very severely from tho noxious .fumes. The air-com-pressor at present in use drives the drills at the face at which tho men aro working, and when tho drills are not in action tho compressor is kept pumping into tho tunnel. Tho effect is no doubt beneficial to some extent, but tho men say that it is entirely insufficient. It is intended to make an attempt to cope with the difficulty this week, and improvise- some means of getting the foul air out. An exhaust pipe will probably be mado to do temporary duty until tho permanent ventilating plant is installed. The reporter's investigations did not lead him to the conclusion that a strike was imminent. Conditions have, if anything, decidedly improved on what they were a few weeks ago, and the bulk of the men admit that this is so. A strike might be precipitated by the want of tact displayed by a single individual in authority, rather than oy any of tho labour conditions in regard to wages and accommodation.