STATE MINERS’ WAGE CUT.

Grey River Argus, 16 May 1922, Page 2

STATE MINERS’ WAGE CUT.

(By “Rewanui. ’’) In continuing my criticism of the denirtmeiit on this wage cut, and the deinition of the court's proposition to educe the cost of living bonus, I find hat the court defines the proposed cut n wages a more reasonable one, than .lie proposal put forward by the departnent. Aly definition of the court’s (ward, and the said award applies to :he whole of New Zealand, is that adult employees are to be reduced 5/- per fiiift, or if full time is not worked 10(1 >er shift, ami boys ]>ro ratio. But at he State mines and two or three more nines in the South Island, the miners ire working under their own agreements. Mutual confidences may be exchanged between employee and employer, the ■inployer in our case being the Governnent, and their representatives, Alessrs James and Parsonage. 1 find that in he court’s interpretation, reasonable 'acilitics are given to both parties to •ome to some sort of a joint agreeiicnt. Now it seems to me that we lave not been granted this privilege, I mt, instead, we have been told rather lutocratically, that this out-of-all-pro-lortion reduction is taking place at nice. As I have said before, we know ve have to stand a reduction in wages, md we are ]ii(‘pare<l to accept the ;ame, but we must have the assurance ittached to the reduction, that it is an lonest endeavour to bring the cost of iving bonus down to something within easonable limits and we are prpeared o argue the same. Tin? method adopt'd by the management of giving noice of their intention to reduce wages, j vas of itself, not constitutional. In all limilar matters connected with our inlustry, n fortnght’s notice is usually jiven, but in this case no notice was ’•iven at all. At 8 o’clock on Tueslay, May 2, a, notice was road out o the employees that the department ,vas reducing wages by I<> 1-3 per cent. X'ow there was no diplomacy in that! After a 10l of lurid language had been iuih'<l at the department, the truckers lecided to have a day off to consider ;he question. Surely we have not gone back to that infamous period of •!<> years ago when our fathers were told Io go to work on any terms that the j L'oal owners thought lit to propose. It . looks to me very much like it, and’ it also seems to me we are being de- i prived to a certain extent, of that voice in the management of the State mines that, the late Mr Seddon gave us, and of which he intended —if he had lived —to give us the privilege of making further use, democratically. In a j private conversation that I had with | the late hon. gentleman, his ambition j was to create an industry over which | the workers would possess a certain I amount of control, with a voice iu the I management. It seems that his tore < cast of a. mining community living and i working together amicably is doomed to failure. His ambition was to have somethng akin to co-operation. This ‘‘take it or leave it” principle, which was not the spirit wiii<-h prompted the above-named gentleman who started tliis enterprise of State coal mining, has got to stop! These autocratic, and red-tape methods which have got a grip of these mines, must give way even- i tually to something more democratic, , so that the worker shall have more se- | curity for his only assets, which are ' his skill and labour. Reverting back | to my criticism of the wage cut, 1. find that the said cut, in some sections of labour attached to these mines, is really more harsh than 1 was aware or, and, as usual, it has been amongst the lowest paid workers. In fact it is a positive disgrace to the department. Keen dissatisfaction is being felt amongst the workers at these State mines over this affair, and a certain ,'>mount of contempt is being fostered ■ , tin' framers of this ultimatum: “ 'lake it or leave it! ” The ‘arce of it! In face of all these reduct ions, ami our own indiscretions, we. see ami read —according to our financial news —the amalgamation ami combination of certain financial magnates, and industrial concerns in these Australasian colonies. Eor what? Io keep the cost of living up, and for more profits. 1 have noticed that, during tin* last few weeks, some large, industrial concerns —concerns that were deadly rivals up to lately—are now working in co-operation and perfect unison, so that the profits that were, made in the past may be sustained, and, if possible, be added to. Again the farce of it! Employers of labour reducing wages, financial kings forming combines so that more profits may be forthcoming, which naturally leads to the cost of living being kept up — just the same as the joining of forces by the manufacturers of explosives, which has resulted during the last six months in the price of this article to the. miners being raised 20 per cent. Ono is not entering this protest against these reductions for one’s own benefit, as in years gone by, when dissatisfied wit li the conditions of his employment. thi' present writer was not particular what part of the globe he set off to in order to try and improve his conditions; but I am speaking for my fellow work-mates, who, in a majority of cases, will feed this harsh cut very acutely, especially the women folk. In conclusion, I make my appeal to the management—who are the practical advisers to the department. I appeal to Jieir natural instincts, as .1. know they lave been practical miners themselves iml “gone through the mill,” as the mying is. They also have a knowledge if conditions, enabling them to advise he department to modify the injustice hat is about to be done to the State nine emolovecs.