WORK NOT YET RESUMED

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 85, 7 October 1920, Page 8

WORK NOT YET RESUMED

MINE-OWNERS' EXECUTIVE MEETS.

It was generally anticipated that the JPukemiro miners, who are pretesting tiigainst the' attempt to exclude the en-gine-drivers from the local ■miners' union, ■(would resume work to-day and that the 'National Dispute.; Committee would jneet this afternoon *.o adjudicate upon the question involved in the dispute. The -■ executive of the Mine-owners' Association met in Wellington this morning for the express purpose of considering the ,-Pukemiro trouble, but as there was no guarantee that the Pukemiro men would resume forthwith the Disputes Committee, the sitting of which was agreed to 'Jvith reluctance by the Pukemiro Com■pany, did not meet at 2.30 as had •been arranged Up to the time of going to press no official advice had been received from the Pukemiro Union, vfhich met this morning to consider a resumption of work. Some surprise was expressed at the fact that the meeting of the union was not held yesterday, for it was an essential part of the agreement that work should be; recommenced today. ' '"■. , '.: ;: ..." ~ Mr. William Pryor, secretary of the Coal Mine Owners' Association, forwarded the' following letter to Mr. J. Ar-. buckle^ secretary of the Miners' Federation :-t-. ■ • ; "J. Dear Sir, —In accordance 1 with' the arrangement made with you on Tuesday last, namely, that if the Pukemiro miners Resumed work.this (Thursday) morning, the National Disputes Committee would sit and deal with this matter this (Thursday) afternoon. I, as you are f/ywee, made such provision as 1 would permit that arrangement being carried out. '.'.The Pukemiro mine directors made urgent and special arrangements, to have me mine ready for the men this- morning. To do this they had to invoke the fesistance of the Railway authorities at Auckland to drop their mine • manager, who was in Auckland at the time, from the Main' Trunk express yesterday afterittion at Huntly, and to delay .the local train from Huntly to Pukemiro, to enable him to reach the mine. On his arrival at Ptikemiro he learnt that, instead of the men having decided to resume work, tfiey were calling a meeting of t|ie union "for. 9 o'clock this morning to consider; the matter. The members of my executive arrived in Wellington, this morning, in accordance with my undertaking to you, prepared to enter upon the hearing of the' dispute..... Consequently, the . Pukemiro . Miners' Union" alone is preventing the. sitting-ofthe-National-Disputes- Commitsteethis afternoon. If you can advise me early this afternoon that the Pukemiro Miners' Union at its meeting this morning has decided to resume work ■immeJiately, I will endeavour to -get the members of my executive together again" before any of them leave Wellington.— Tours faithfully, ' ' ' ... (Signed). WILLIAM PRYOR, '• j"-"."..." i ' '." Secretary..