Vict. Miners Support Continuing Strike:

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23020, 10 August 1949, Page 7

Vict. Miners Support Continuing Strike:

(N.Z.P. A.—Reutt?—Copyriebt.)

(11.45 a.m.) . SYDNEY, Aug. 10. Though the miners on the southern and western New South Wales'fields yesterday rejected the recommendations by their central council which, in effect, asked them to continue the strike, the vote of the Wonthaggi miners in Victoria gave an Australian majority of 42 in favour of the recommendation.

* The total New South Wales vote rejected the recommendation bv J 298 votes to 1022.

Only one small meeting of 51 voters at Berrima in the south declared in favour of the motion.

It is believed that the Wonthaggi vote of 322 votes to four in favour of the motion was a personal one in support of the president of the Miners’ Federation, Mr. Idris Williams, who is serving a year's sentence for contempt of the' Arbitration Court. Mr. Williams was a Wonthaggi miner before he was elected to the presidency. The Victorian Government owns the Wonthaggi ’ mine, workers in which already have long-service leave —one of the conditions sought by the Miners’ Federation as a whole. The vote today on the northern New South Wales field where about 10.000 miners are entitled to record their opinions, is expected to be heavily against the recommendation which is also expected to be refused in Tasmania and Queensland. Likely to be Rejected

Miners on the southern and western New South Wales fields rejected a long recommendation by the council that the strike be continued while it attempted to open negotiations with the Governments and other parties. Correspondents state that the rejection of the recommendation by the southern and western miners almost certainly ensures that it will be thrown out throughout the Miners’ Federation. These meetings were held yesterday at the instigation of the council because it believed the southern and western miners would support the recommendation and this would have an effect on the voting at the aggregate meetings of the powerful northern miners.

If the entire federation refuses the council's advice, it will be the first time in the' history of the federation that a central council recommendation has been rejected. If it wishes to avoid the collapse of the federation and a piecemeal drift back to work the council will have to move immediately for aggregate meetings of all mine workers to consider the straightforward issue of ending the strike without seeking a facesaving formula. Vote For Return to Work

Militant leaders admit that the rejection of the recommendation must be regarded as a vote for return to work. The western miners’ meeting at Lithgow rejected the recommendation by 360 votes to 262, with many abstaining from voting.

Moderates claim that many who voted against the recommendation were not included in the count. During the meeting large numbers of miners objected to being addressed as “comrades’’ and Mr. R. Hamilton, acting president of the Miners’ Federation, was hooted. The southern miners’ meeting at Wollongong rejected the recommendation by 609 votes to 599, with hundreds abstaining. The western miners at Portland declared against the recommendation by 135 votes to 65 and cheered a declaration by a miner: “We cannot win. The only way to settle our claims is to go back to arbitration.”

• The men who voted yesterday represent about 5000 of the 17,000 members of the Miners’ Federation throughout Australia.

Members of other unions who make up the total number of strikers to 23,000 are awaiting the result of the miners' meetings. Seven miners’ lodges in north-west New’ South Wales are threatening to break away from the the federation and form a new union. They include the jpen-cut operators of Singleton, Muswellbrook and Gunnedah. Negotiations are being conducted in the utmost secrecy before the combined meeting on Thursday.