“NO TOBACCO—NO WORK”

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 September 1943, Page 4

“NO TOBACCO—NO WORK”

LIVERPOOL MINE STRIKE “No tobacco —no, work” was in effect the decision made.at a meeting of the Liverpool State mine workers at the bathhouse this morning, and they decided to return home, pending some satisfaction being received from the Government in regard to their demand for tobacco. It is understood that an amendment was moved that the men’ stay on the job and make representations for a better and more plentiful distribution of tobacco, and idle the mine, with others in the district, if no improvement in the position was then secured. The amendment was lost, though not by an overwhelming majority. A meeting of the State Miners’ Union will be held this evening to discuss the question. When the matter was referred to the President of the Union (Mr H. Johnston) he stated that he had no comment to make on the stoppage or on the reason for it. So far shipping has not been affected by the stoppage, but if the strike continues it will have an effect on the loading of ships later in the week.

Enquiries made in Runanga, where the majority of the miners reside, elicited the information that the three principal dealers in tobacco had been out of stocks for weeks. One stated that he had received a parcel yesterday from the shipment which arrived at Greymouth during the week-end, but that he would be out of it by mid-day. The two others stated that ,while they were expecting a share from the recent shipment they had not yet received it and that they had not had tobacco in their shops lor three weeks “Tobacco and cigarettes are plentiful in Wellington,” said one man who returned yesterday from a visit to the capital. One who returned with him had brought home eight or nine twoounce packets of tobacco and others he knew had received ample supplies of both tobacco and cigarettes. “There has been a shortage of tobacco in Greymouth because of a shortage of shipping,” said a wholesaler this morning. “Tobacco has been lying in Wellington for three weeks awaiting shipment, though several ships have come to Greymouth empty. Two tobacco companies even went to the expense of sending stocks to Lyttelton for transhipment to Greymputh, but owing to the congestion of cargo at Lyttelton the tobacco was received at Greymouth only this week. The quantities of some kinds of tobacco in the last shipment were not as large as expected,” he concluded.