MINERS CEASE WORK

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21903, 2 October 1936, Page 12

MINERS CEASE WORK

GOLDEN SANDS COMPANY’S DISPUTE HIGHER WAGES DEMANDED by; MEN IXHB PRESS Special Service.] G 1 " EYMOUTH, October 1. "The employees of the Golden Sands dredge stepped work at midnight on Wednesday, according to an ultimatum issued by them to the employers, and they intend to continue to strike until their demands are agreed to, ’ said Mr L. Mouatt. delegate from the dredge to the Westland Gold Dredge and Alluvial Goldminers’ Union. “The men are claiming 17s a day for day-men, 18s for shift men, and 19s for cloth men, and they do not intend to accept anything less than th Tvir Mouatt said that many of the miners were not prepared to accept the terms of the agreement reachedpreviously with the employers at the Conciliation Council. The men were determined to press their claims end had enlisted the sympathy of the employees on other dredges including the construction workers of the Barrytown Gold Dredge. ' . . ■ , ... Mr Mouatt said he understood that the employees on the Rimu dredge, which employed the biggest number of men in the Hokitika district, were prepared to support the Golden Sands men in their stand. No counter proposals to the men’s claims had been made by the employers. Awaiting Developments “It is just a case now of awaiting developments,” remarked Mr S. Hindin, secretary of Golden Sands, Ltd., yesterday. “We have made a bargain with the employees, and the company feels that both sides should stick to it.’ Mr Hindin said that nothing would be done about the reopening of the mine until next week, as a meeting of miners was to be held on Sunday and there might be a change in their attitude. The mine manager, Mr J. M. Dennehy, had been instructed not to accept the terms offered by the miners but to adhere to the rates of pay provided in the agreement. The men, therefore, had been paid to the end of the month.