The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1932. THE COAL STRIKE SITUATION.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11661, 11 June 1932, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY. SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1932. THE COAL STRIKE SITUATION.

The deadlock that has arisen in connection with a large section of tile coiil-mining. industry' provides q, farther argument in support of the need for ikjgiskitiyo machinery to opahlo aii industrial dispute to ibe settled without dislocation of work and business. In the past, whoa ,an award expired, or was' about to expire, thp puiffcios wore required to bubmit claims io.mli counter-claims' to thq industrial authority,, which then fixed a date for the hearing of the matter and the industry was not interrupted. The aim under the new law, however, is that the parties shall endeavour to settle any difficulties ' among themselves. Such has always been the. position whore industries have worked under agreements, but it does not seem that it will be so easy 1 now to settle industrial disputes by mutual conciliation, rn view of the cli aimed economic- conditions. The mutual conciliation system, as is well-known, did not require a special study of the claims of the user or consumer. In this regard, a similar remark applied, more or less,, to awards made hy the Court of Arbitration Latterly, , however, that .body began to see that care must be. taken lest employers and workers agreed to terms which made costs to the public too high. Tho compulsory conciliation system could not have been inade general at a more difficult juncture, ft is unquestionable that costs in connection with the coal industry must now bo reduced in a like ratio to reductions under every other heading throughput the Dominion. This point is conceded in the industry, but. naturally, the workers wish to cling to ns many as possible of ibe concessions and advantages which they have enjoyed in the past. Boiled down, the main issue that is now holding up a. largo section of the coal-mining industry is tho contention bv the owners that it shall first of all be agreed they shall have the right to engage and discard men at their own discretion as might bo necessary to meet the circumstances of the case* If that were tho only outstanding matter, and it could bo referred to a tribunal, it is beyond question that that right would bo -granted the coal-owners, subject, of course, to a stipulation providing that nothing in the shape of victimisation should occur. It is not quite clear whether the owners have exorcised that right in the past, but we should say that it has never been waived, although it may not have required to bo as freely exercised as may be felt necessary now. Plainly, the spark which occasioned the present conflagration was not unlike that which caused the equally regrettable strike amongst the tramwaymeiL in Christchurch. From all accounts, negotiations in regard to the owners 1 proposed new terms of wort; never made much advancement after tho strike at the Hikurungi ini no over the dismissal of fifty-five men. Seemingly, tho coal-workers in other districts then became alanneu in respect of the possibilities under the companies 1 new terms and the rnoli at Hikurungi, wlu> had returned in work, again .went out. It was subsequently.that the companies intimated that, before they would enter into further negotiations for a new agreement, the unions would require to agree that they should have the right to engage aud discard men at their discretion. To-day, about twenty other mines are idle on account of the dispute and, meantime, there is no definite Word as to when negotiations will be resumed. W hat is required is that the government shall intcrevene and compel the parties to enter upon a. conference and t]mt failing acquiescence by either side it should at once set up a. tribunal to deal with the dispute.