COAL TROUBLE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 308, 22 September 1920, Page 7

COAL TROUBLE

ANOTHER STOPPAGE AT STATE MINE "IRRITATION STRIKE" REPORTED MR. MASSEY'S FIRM COMMENT A statement regarding the present coal troubles of the country was yesterday made in the House by the Prime Minister, when Mr. Parry (Auckland Central) asked him what the Government was doing to effect a settlement of the northern dispute. Mr. Massey said that Mr. P. Hally (Conciliation Commissioner) was arriving in Wellington, and would be sent at once to Auckland, and probably to Huntly, That was practically all that the Government could do. He had received tliat day information to the effect that tho State coal-miners had gone out on a four days' strike. That sort of thing could not possibly go on. He would sooner face the difficulty at once, and have it over finally, than have a continuation of the pm-pricking that had been going on for months. He believed that New Zealand was up against trouble, and that tho country would not put Tip with the present state of affairs any longer. He was prepared to face the trouble now. Either the men must produce in proportion to their numbers the coal the country required,' or some other means must bo found of providing the coal for the people. It might be hearsay, but the information, of the Government was that miners had adopted their present policy because conscientious objectors were being kept in the prisons. There were, however, no conscientious objectors in prison now. All who had been in had boen released some time ago. They had'served their sentences, which the Government bed reduced by six months. He did not isay that there wer« no deserters in the prisons of- the country at present. Deserters were quite a different class of people.

The Minister of Defence (Sir Heaton Rhodes) endorsed the statement that there were no conscientious objectors still in prison. There were fonrteeji military offenders in prison. Three of them were serving sentences for criminal offences, and the others had been defaulters or deserters.

Mr. Holland (Buller) asked if Mr. Massey hnij. exact information as to the cause of the stoppnjo at tho State mine. The Prime Minister replied that lie had just been reading a. document hearing 011 the point. An official statement was to effrot that the stoppage was connected with the Broken Hill levy.. Trouble had been, reported last week at the Blackball mine on account of two blacksmiths who refused to pay this levy. Tho telegram he had. received from the Inspector of Factories for the dish-let was as follows:— State mine idle in agreement with irritation policy of four days' fortnightly. The ostensible reason is the Broken Hill levy. Mr. Massey added that he knew no more about tho matter at the moment. THE WAIKATO STRIKE CONSIDERATION BY MINERS' EXECUTIVE.

Tho executive of tho Minors' Federation eat in Wellington yesterday to consider what action should bo taken towards effecting a, settlement^, of the strike at the Waikato coal minos. The Miners' Union at Huntly has left tho deoision entirely in tho hands of tho executive, the points in dispute being the refusal of tho Government and the mino owners to grant railway concessions to men who work at the l'ukemiro and Botowaru mine. Mr. J. Arbuckle, secretary of the Federation, informed a Dominion reporter yesterday afternoon that no decision of tho executive was yet available for publication.

TIME WORKED AND WAGES EARNED STATEMENT BY TAUPIRI COM- ' PANY CHAIRMAN. By Telegranh—Preys Association. .. Auckland, September 21. In the course of a reply to the statement made by the Huntly Miners' Union last week concerning the coal mine strike in the Waikato, the Hon. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the Taupiri Coal Mines, Ltd., stated that during the last working year, which ended on August 27, the Pukemiro Company's mine was worked on 25-1 days. There were 14 mine holidays, 10 days were lost through strikes, one and a half were lost through shortage of wagons, half ft day as a result of a breakdown of machinery, three days owing to lack of explosives, and three dilys on account of the railway strike. The total number of shifts worked was 16,{G6, and tho total earnings of the miners ,£16,611 195., an average of 20s. 2}d. a <lay for each man, This includes the period during which tho miners' go-slow policy was in operation, Assuming that the men had worked 270 days at normal pressure at present hewing rates, they would each have averaged 30s. a day, an average for the year of .£405 a man. Of 170 men employed by the company, only somo 27 per cent, are affected by railway fares when travelling to and from their work. The Taupiri Mines, Ltd., employs a total of 420 men at its mines, 280 at tho Extended mine, and 140 at Kotowarn, and only some 90 of these travel by train to then work.. The average wages earned isv27s. sd. a day for hand men and 31s. 4d; for machine men.