COAL CRISIS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21583, 9 December 1944, Page 6

COAL CRISIS

' QRAVE CONCERN AUSTRALIAN MINERS STRIKE ACTION THREAT (9. a .m.) SYDNEY, Dec. 9. ’Grave concern at the new crisis in the coal industry is being expressed throughout Australia and strong words' have been addressed to miners by.-the acting-Prime Minister, Mr. F. M. Fordo, who said that by withholding coal, miners were recklessly a'nd even wantonly playing into the hands of reactionaries. •'‘Let the miners think what sort of treatment they will get after the war if; by their own tactics during the war, -they are responsible for the defeat of the Labour Government;” warned Mr. Forde. ' He added that the miners were betraying the interests of their fellowworkers throughout Australia, who were being deprived of necessities and even being thrown out of work because of wilful stoppages. Fewer than 12 per cent of the stoppages on the; coalfields had any relation to industrial matters. If the miners wanted the forces of reaction to regain power they were going, the right way about it. , Major llold-up in Industry Opinion in Sydney is that, unless the miners are willing to withdraw their threat to hold a general coal strike on the question of holidays and garnishees, there will be a major hold-up in industry. The miners have received no support for their strike threat from the executive of the Australian Council of Trades Unions,, which has summoned a conference of all Federal unions dependent for their employment on coal production to take place in Sydney on December 12. Efforts will be made at the conference to overcome present deadlock. .;. Meanwhile, many miners have decided to defy the Government’s order to cut the Christmas holidays from 16 days to 10 days. The Miners’ Council also decided that strike action would be taken if attempts were made' by means of garnisheeing to collect unpaid fines for absenteeism. The miners’ delegates told the A.C.T.U. executive that they were unable to prevent men from taking 16 -Jays’ Christmas holidays if they were determined to do so. A.C.T.U. delegates told the miners’ representatives that there was still considerable sympathy with miners’ grievances, but they warned them that this sympathy must not be. construed as support for any action which might imperil the Government. The A.C.T.U. appealed to the miners “not to precipitate . any action that might make the present unfortunate situation worse.” Official figures just released reveal that' total stocks of coal held by New South Wales, Victoria and South- Australia at the end of November - amounted to only 660,000 tons. At; the. beginning of the year three States had reserves amounting to 1,000,000 tons. By the end of August t.hdy had dropped to less than 500,000 lons, but increased output, together With restrictions on the use of coal, have resulted in some improvement.