WEST COAST LABOUR TROUBLES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 218, 8 June 1908, Page 7

WEST COAST LABOUR TROUBLES.

OTIRA -WORKERS. THE BLACKBALL FINES. (BT TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Greymouth, June 7. ; Conjecture'has been rife for the past week as tu what tho oxpiration of the nine days' notice'given to' Messrs. John M'Lean and Sons, contractors for tho Otira tunnel, I y tho Otira branch of the Inangahua Miners' Union, would .bring forth. The said notice was in relation to a scale of wages drafted by tho Labour' l body. Under the notice submitted to the contractors for. their acceptance or rejection, tho nine days expired yesterday, and the men held a moeting last night, but decided on adjourning tho proceedings until the return of Mr. Kennedy, General Secretary to tho Inangahua Union. It i.; extremely problematical what tho men will dccido upon eventually. Somo local wiseacres affirm that thoy will striko; othors, tint tho whole question will bo submitted to tho Arbitration Court. Messrs. Guinness and Kitchingham, acting on behalf of tho Blackball Minors' Union, have served noticcs of motion on tho members of tho Arbitration Court, tho Stipendiary Magistrate, and tho Inspector of Awards, to appear at tho Supremo Court at Christchurch on Wednesday next to show cause why the order inflicting tho fine on tho individual members of the Blackball Union should not bo set aside. It.is understood that if tho presiding Judge at Chri'stchurch does not care to doal with tho matter summarily, it will bo held over till tho next sitting of the •Court of Appeal