"BANK TO BANK."

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 90, 9 January 1908, Page 7

"BANK TO BANK."

. THE HISTORY OF THE DISPUTE. TOLD BY THE MEN'S ' ' - REPRESENTATIVE. , M r - John Foster, President of tho. Denniston Miners' Union, gavo. a' Dominion re-, porter yesterday a clear awl conciso . narrative, or the events leading up'.to the present labour , dispute, and supplemented his istatemorit of-'tho previous day as to. tho. attitude • ;of tho,m'cn. . . . • " Tho, agitation for ciglit, hours bank to bank began fourteen, years ago," said Mr. Foster. "It was strongly urged by thoi miners,, and. was brought before tho. Arbitration. Court at tho first sitting of tho,Court on th'e-West Coast, which ;was soon after tho. passing of the Arbitration Acti Tho Court refusal to give eight hours bank .to bank,, bccauso tho question was then" beforo Parliament. Howoyer, no .legislation was : passed 011 tho subject until, 1901. Section G. of the Coal Jlinos Apt Amohdmont' Act of thai'yoar, gavo tlio eight hours bank to bank, providing that if a miner was employed moro'than eight . hours underground ho. should bo paid tuno and a quarter j but wlicrb'an award of tho Arbitration' Court existed pj;ior to tho pasSr ing of tho; Aot,; this was to bo 1 read .as . subjectto that award: so long' as tho .award eontinued in force.; "'■> A DISAPPOINTMENT, ''; • • " When this measure was beforo'the-Gold-■fiolds and.Mines.Committoo.of the Houso of . ;Representatives," continued' Mr,. Foster, " I. attended with certain colleagues, to givo ovidenco'in support of tho Bill. Wo stated that, we wore/(juito agreeable to .tho section being, mado. subjcct to. existing alvards, but wo said, this on tho'understanding that tho hank to* bank clauso. would 'liccomo law, absolutely oh tho .expiration of\ exis.tihg awards. Well,' in 1905,,'th0 Court, under Judge Chapman, sat on. tho Coast, and absolutely refused to mako 1 a fresh, award. Tho result Was ■ that' tho old. award remained in'force right down to 1907. , . . _ •\'. . "In tlio meantime the Coal Minos Act Amondment Act,.1903, was passed. '. Section 2 of this mcasuro' provided that, 'subjcct 'to. tho of any award now in force,'a miner should bo paid overtime when employed underground ; for more than eight hours, counting from the time ho entered the underground workings to tho timo 110 left the samo. This was in substitution of Section 6 of tho Act of 1901. / Section 2 of, tho Act of 1903 was-re-cnacted in 1905, as Section 37 of tho'Coal'Mines Compilation Act of that - year. • . ' THE AWARD OF 1907; . "Tlio award which |\vas in forcd wheh'tho original legislation was passed 1 expired in March.' 1907, and parties entered into' an industrial agreement, which Was after-, wards. converted into an award. Clauso 16 of this award provides that the men. shall work eight hours at tlio face, and shall bo paid 'nominal' overtime for the time spent in travelling into and out of : tho mine. This 'nominal'overtime varied from 4d. per shift to 2d. per shift, according to tho rates of pay received .by the different, workers. Clauso 26 provides that ovcrtimo shall be paid for at tho rato of timo and a. quarter. 7 WHAT THE MEN RELY ON. . . ' "Then camq tho Coal Mines Act Amondmont Act of last session, which repealed tho first v five linos of Clauso 37 of trio Act of 1903, thus striking out-all reference to awards and making the.section read: — 'A miner shall-bo entitled to be paid overtime, when'; ho -is employed underground in a mine for moro than eight hours in any day, counting from tho time lie enters tho underground workings of tho mine to tlio time ho leaves'tho samo.''; -..." ,

"Tho'- Bill was introduced for'tho purposo. of securing what' tho miners had been agitating for during fourteen 1 , years, namely, eight hours bank to bank. The' Arbitration Court, however, has decided that tho new. legislation has no effect ' as' against tho '.award.- Tho ! miners insist, that, tho intention ;of the legislature was to give them- what 'they demanded, and immediately after tho .Act became law they;.informed tlio Company 'that') thcy^-Wishdd'-ito 7 ' talco • advantage of '• it,-' ,and.;tliey gave, fourteen days''notice accordingly.' The "Arbitration,'&urt' has decided that irijdoing so the men breach' of 'tho iwa't'd, "but r thoj v ■ uiianifnouslv. insist upon adhering-to-:their original .resolution —' namely, .'to work eight hours bank to bank' according-to tho law. ' ■ ■ . v ; ■... V PATIENCE EXHAUSTED. ' , ~•■"■'■ . > . . ' "One/interesting fact: deserves'fo ho'chronicled, and that is, that notwithstanding all tho objections, to tho bank to bank principle, it has been in force"; at the Ifonniston mine 3 sinco November 16, and .tho_.output, both' pof " man and in tho aggregate, .has been fully' maintained. The position is; ac r contuatod by the fact that, in tho State.collieries, tho miners havo oight,' hours' bank to bank without any restrictive stipulations about travelling , time-or anything. else.' At tho Brunner and Tynesido mines, and. at many others elsewhere in the ..Dominion, tho samo system-, obtains. About 400 men at Donniston are affected by tho dispute. "Tho .men's patience,", said ,Mr. ; , Foster, in conclusion, "is exhausted, owing to tho fact that, although tho -parliament of Now Zealand,. seven years . ago, passed, certain legislation, yet it has never bccomo law in respect of the Donniston mines, although it is In forco in othor mines throughout, tho Dominion. Tho men. havo so' far been Very 1. patient and reasonable. After what I havo said, tho public can judge,!'.