WAIHI MINERS

Evening Star, Issue 16990, 12 March 1919, Page 6

WAIHI MINERS

4S* LOYALTY OF THE COMPANY. ARBITRATION vTIbIRECT ACTION. £Pek United Pbess Association.] AUCKLAND. March 12. The management of the Waihi Company, in a statement with reference to the present trouble, state, that after the strike in 1912 a. union was formed entirely of miners and batterv hands, who favored settlements of disputes by arbitration, as opposed to direct action by the. Federation. of Uabor. Later on the original members of the union left to take up other work. 1 New members came in, and the policyof the union changed, till in 1916 there was a majority sufficient to join the Federatioa of Labor. The union continued to press their demands till, in November, 1918, an agreement was reached under which nin» men specified by name were exempted from joining the union. This was embodied in an industrial agreement. The union have again demanded the dismissal of the arbitrationist employees, which the : cunripunv resist, as it would be a gross j breach "of faith not to protect legal cmj pluvees who left the union on account of their revolutionary politics. They intend to hold to this decision in face of any action the federation may take.