STATE MINERS.

Grey River Argus, 18 January 1922, Page 4

STATE MINERS.

A PAPER’S CHEAP JIBE. For some reason best known to itself, the Greymouth “Star” last evening attempted to shoulder on the officers of the State Miners’ Union the blame for the stoppage of work at the mine last month. It says: “The gen- | oral public, as well as many of the I miners themselves, were somewhat in the dark as to why the Union did not sanction a resumption of work on December 12th, after the other miners’ unions decided to resume.” Now it will be remembered that the stoppage was rightly characterised at the time as a lock-out. The sanction for a resumption rested with the Mines Department officials, not the Union, and whilst the miners were ready on December 12 for work, they were prevented from working by ~e Department, because its ultimatum was not accepted the day before. Indeed, the shift men and truckers were informed by the management that there would be no work. The Union’s stand has been consistent throughout, their del tnand being that before they could accept a new set of terms they should at least know what those terms were to be. On the other hand, on Decern - ber 11 the leaders were asked to sign something binding the men to work under the Department’s dictated terms that were to be intimateu at some future date. The Union pointed out then that there was a legal procedure that could be followed, i.e., resort to the Conciliation Council and the Arbitration Court, but the Department would not then listen to this proposal. Their attitude was: ”No signatures—no work.” The General Manager wanted his own terms, or nothing. He objected to allowing work to go on and the case to go before the Court. The miners insisted there was a legal channel to travel, and sent a deputation to Wellington. The Minister there admitted at once the reasonableness of their ease. He agreed the Court machinery should be used, and that it was unfair to keep the mine closed till the men should submit to the Department. Then it was that tho delegation wired the result of their mission, stating that work would bo resumed on the terms which they had all along stood out for. Surely, it is significant that the Union had to negotiate direct with the Minister, who agreed the mine should re-open and that tho new terms later to bo agreed on be retrospective. The “Star” last night quoted a notice to

the above effect posted at tho State mine last pay day. The “Star” has obtained from the Bunanga Stato Mine Manager a copy of a document signed at Wellington Tiy the Union President on the occasion of his interview with the Minister on December 21, viz.:—“As President of fue State Coal Miners’ Union, X am agreeable, on behalf of the Union, to the differences between the Mines Department and the Union being settled by Mt A. H. Kimbell and myself, and, if we fail to agree, to the Union taking the necesary steps within a periou' of two weeks from the termination of the negotiations between us, to obtain un-< der the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, a settlement of the whole of the conditions and rates payable, in each case the agreement or award to take effect as from the date the mine is’ re-opened. ’ ’ Now that document vindicates the Union’s stand throughout, and yet the “Star” says it is an agreemnt “t“e same in every respect as that proposed by the General Manager on December 10, 1921.” Where was the provision for the Court adjudicating in the General Manager’s “agreement” of December 10? That provision is the essence of the document signed at Wellington. It was the ground on which tho miners stood on December 10, and it is the one point that the “Star” carefully keeps in tho background. Why? UNION PRESIDENT'S REMARKS. Questioned by an “Argus” reporter regarding the above matter, Mr J. Pattinson, president of the Stato Miners’ Union, last evening said the State miners were workng on well and smoothly. There would be the. quarterly cavil this week. He had noted the “Star’s” remarks, but he had nothing to say thereanent at present. He hoped the “Star” editor would not get a headache, as he was not himself at all perturbed. Later he might have something further to sav on the matter.