MINERS’ EARNINGS
WESTPORT MINES Information about miners’ earnings was supplied by the chairman, Mr. James Begg, at the annual meeting of the Westport Coal Company, Limited. Reference was frequently made, he said, to inadequate remuneration which the workmen received with, of course, a suggestion that the mineowners got more than a reasonable return for .their share in the industry. “It may interest shareholders to learn,” Mr. Begg said, “that the average earnings of our colliers for the past year, after paying for explosives, tools, etc., were over £2 3s a day at one mine, and over £2 a day at the other. Colliers who worked full time averaged from £SOO to £550 for the year. Some men, of course, earned much more than this. Truckers of 19 years of age and over receive 24s a day.” At the present rate of dividend, Mr. Begg continued, shareholders received an average yearly payment of £lO each, which represented about 3 per cent on the value of the company’s assets. The coal raised last year had amounted to 287,000 tons, and the net profit to the company had been sid a ton. The other portion of the company’s income, amounting to £7990, had come from subsidiary sources.
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Bibliographic details
Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20957, 3 December 1942, Page 6
Word Count
204MINERS’ EARNINGS Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20957, 3 December 1942, Page 6
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