AUSTRALIAN COAL STRIKE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18924, 12 February 1927, Page 15

AUSTRALIAN COAL STRIKE.

POSITION ACUTE. NEWCASTLE SHIPPING PARALYSED. •iff r*s:.r r»E«3 »Sso:utioj»-cervß'.sHT v.vSTK\:.!Ay as'D ».;. cable association. SYDNEY. rVbntary 1!. Ai. .vi.le position a! ready h::* ;.m*ci. u\ Newcastle owing I" t a' 1 stoppajf <•; liie collieries. Sliipping avli\ itii-j are a lino- •' :: ;: standstill, ainl when the steamers now under the ,-.inl eraiies have completed loading supplies will lie exhausted. I'll--- Federal Government lias :• >' serve stork i.;' lil'.'KHi tons at Bullock Island, !.u: owing to exposure to the ail :. has lost much oi its calorific value. an.l i; n:u.-: iiiisat.stncloi y t< r u-e at the Broken Hill steei works, which will ho compelled to draw from this source if a settlement of the dispute is not speedily effected. It is'believed that the Miners' federation, at the aggregate meetings on Monday, will urge the men to stand out tor a minimum wage throughout the industry, and the appoint meat of local Boards for the settlement of disputes. The owners state that trade is so slack that for many companies the strike will not result in the imposition of conditions much more onerous than thev arc at present enduring. The Hon. J. M. Raddcley, Minister for Mines, states that the official appointed by the Federal Government to enquire into the position, has conferred with the owners, and subsequently the miners' representatives, and he (Mr Baddcley) is satisfied with Ihe way things are now shaping. A message from Melbourne states that although no official statement has yet been made, it will be decided tomorrow to pay off the crews of several colliers, and lay the vessels up at Melbourne.