REAL DANGER POINT

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 131, 1 December 1930, Page 9

REAL DANGER POINT

SOUTH WALES THE KEY

HOPEF.UL INDICATIONS

(British Official Wireless.), ■ (Received Ist December, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, 30th November. It is now certain that in all the mining areas except the Scottish coalfields, work will continue as usual tomorrow. In Scotland, the Union of Scottish Mine Workers decided on Saturday to cense work from to-day, consequently shifts did not descend the mines this afternoon, but there is a strong hope that meetings fixed for to-morrow morning will result in an arrangement whereby work will soon be resumed. Saturday's meeting of Scottish delegates, which decided to cease work, was taking place at the same time as a similar meeting at Cardiff among the South' Wales mining delegates, where a decision to continue work was reached. South Wales is a much more important coalfield, and was, in fact, regarded as the danger point of the situation. Tho settlement reached there provides grounds for expectation that to-mor-row's meetings in Scotland will lead to a resumption of work. NO INTERBUPTION OF SUPPLIES. Tho Secretary for Mines, Mr. Shinwell, in a statement issued yesterday, emphasised that tho danger of a national upheaval on Monday had been averted, and acldod: "There will bo no interference with normal transactions in coal, and no interference with exports, and buyers of coal need bo under no misapprehension about obtaining supplies. . There will bo an abundance of coal production." He jiointed.jOut that tho Government had been in "constant touch with both sides during the dispute, and mentioned that the National Industrial Board made in regard to the Scottish appeal a simlar recommendation to that made in the ease of South Wales, napely, that as there* has'been1 settle/;

ment pending negotiations, there should be no wage reductions, and that the spreatlover principle should be adopted. THE SOUTH WALES AGREEMENT. Actually, the agreement reached by. the South Wales owners and miners provided for work on eleven days of eight hours daily during a fortnight. This gives 88 hours for the fortnight, as against a permissible 90 hours' fortnight if the 7-J hours day per working week, as laid down by the new Coal Mines Act, were adhered to rigidly.