COLLIERY STRIKES IN BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25275, 29 August 1947, Page 7

COLLIERY STRIKES IN BRITAIN

Contracts Terminated For Refusal To Resume

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, August 28. “We shall not defend these men in any way. Apparently they don’t want to work, so why keep them on the books?” said Mr Will Lawther, president of the National Union Of Mineworkers, explaining the union’s attitude to the 2682 workers at the Grimethorpe colliery, near Barnsley, whose contracts have been terminated by the National Coal Board because they refused to return to work after striking for 16 days. Mr Lawther said the men hat) been appealed to twice and had still refused to go back to work. In his opinion, if the board had done anything less than dismiss these men, it would not have been doing its duty. Two thousand five hundred men at the Hatfield colliery, near Doncaster have stopped work until the claims of the Grimethorpe colliery men are met. Local union officials appealed to the Hatfield men to stay at work until the week-end, but they refused and began their sympathy strike with the afternoon shift. The local branch secretary said the men had reached their decision after hearing the report of Sir Noel Holmes, the National Coal Board’s north-east regional chairman, on the Grimethorpe position, The secretary added: ‘‘Our men interpreted the report as meaning that the Grimethorpe men were discharged,” A further 2700 miners at Frickley joined the Hatfield strikers in sympathy with the Grimethorpe men. They said they would try to persuade other pits tq join them. Tfie night shift workers at the Hatfield colliery and 700 night shift workers at the Frigkley colliery carried on the strike started by the day shift worker? in sympathy with the Grimethorpe miners. The total number of strikers last night reached 6600. “The time has eome when I have the nation to think about,” said Lord Hyndley. chairman of the National Coal Board. “The men at Grimethorpe are out. and as far as I am concerned they stay out. The pit is open for them to resume if they wish, but the Coal Board doesn’t propose to budge. The men have the conciliation machinery they sought, and they must abide by it.”

Lord Hyndley added that any further cases of strike action in other parts of the country would be met by similar measures. Sir Noel Holmes said that the pit ponies had been taken put of the Grimethorpe shafts. “We mean business and we are going to be quite firm in future,” he said. “You cannot run a business if you don’t know whether 150 or 300 men are going to turn up. Absenteeism fias got to stop.” The Ministry of Labour said it was doubtful whether the men would be entitled to unemployment pay, as they were responsible for their own dismissal and had defied their union. Moreover, they were still subject to the Control of Engagements Order and could not accept other work outside the coal industry without permission. Since nationalisation and before the present Grimethorpe strike there had been 28 unofficial stoppages at the Grimethorpe colliery, causing the loss of 33,000 tons of cpal. The present stoppage has already caused the loss of 40,000 tons, , „ x x. The face workers struck first, when they were asked to increase the area of coal face worked by each shift from 7 yard? to 7 yards 2 feet. The remainder of the employees in the mine came out in sympathy. This is the first direct action taken by the Coal Board to implement the warning of the Minister of Fuel (Mr E. Shin well) an July 10 that pits would be closed if the men defied the instructions of their union ©nd held up production. The Coal Board is now faced with a much more difficult .situation, however, for 10,000 members of the Clerical and Administrative Workers’ Union, which embrace? most of the clerical and office worker? employed in the coal mines, new threaten to strike unless their smouldering dispute with th® National Union of Mineworkers is settled- The dispute flared up in June, whan a number of the mine clerical workers went on strike in South Wale?, and it appears to be no nearer settlement. The real point at issue is the resentment of the clerk cal workers of the efforts of the Mineworkers’ Union to absorb their organisation- The Clerical Workers’ Union is meeting on Monday to decide upon strike action.