MINE DISPUTE AT HUNTLY

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26125, 30 May 1950, Page 3

MINE DISPUTE AT HUNTLY

WORK MAY STOP TODAY REPORTED DECISION AT STOP-WORK MEETING (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, May 29. All miners in the Huntly district held stop-work meetings to-day. Later the district secretary of the Northern Miners’ Union (Mr H. Hall) said he had posted the following notice above his name: “There will be no further work at any of the mines (underground or open cast) as from to-day, May 29, in accordance with the decision of the rank and file of the district.” If the notice results in a general stoppage of work to-morrow, the loss of coal will be about 5900 tons a day. The mines involved are six underground and five open-cast mines at Huntly. the Wilton State mine at Glen Massey, and the Whatawhata coalmine. The dispute arose out of an incident at the Alison No. 1 mine last Fridav after a claim by a trucker for short-shift pavment, which the management refused to pay. After meeting on Friday, the miners returned home. To-day a meeting was held at the Alison mine until ff.3o a.m., after which the men returned home. The Pukemiro miners also held a stopwork meeting until 10.45 a.m.. when they. too. returned home. Men at the other mines returned to work after their meetings.