INANGAHUA MINERS

Grey River Argus, 16 October 1936, Page 9

INANGAHUA MINERS

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE Case for the Union The case fo r the Inangahua Gold Miners’ Union, recently before the Arbitration Court, at Reefton. was presented by Mr J. Roberts, Secretary of the N.Z. Alliance of Labour, as follows:— The Agreement under which the Miners are at present working expired on .December 31st, 1934, tint! from that time until now efforts have been made by the parties to effect a settlement. In March 1935 the parties met in conference but failed to arrive- at an agreein-mit. Later meetings of the Council of Conciliation were held and again the parties .failed to agree. The Agreement then in operation was cancelled and later the dispute was filed under the provisions of “The Labour Disputes Investigation Act. 1913.’’ An independent, chairman was appointed, but on this occasion the employers refused to accept the recommendations ■which the chairman made for a settlement of the dispute. The Union lat- '' er filed a dispute under the provisions of “The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act.’’ and a meeting of the Conciliation Council was held at Reefton and the dispute had been referred to the Court of Arbitration. The representatives of the Union have tried in vain to obtain an agreement f during the past year and a half but we hope to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion on this occasion. The principle reason for the delay in the settlement of this dispute is that the employers have consistently refused to increase wages above the 1931

level, despite the fact that the price ot gold in New Zealand currency has ini creased by 100 per cent since that year. The men employed in the gold mining industry justly feel that they

are entitled to some share in the unprecedented increase in the prosperity of the industry. When the standard price of gold was .£4/5/- per fine ounce the Court of Arbitration fixed the rates of pay and conditions of employment which are in operation at the present time. To-day the price of ' gold. New Zealand currency, is approximately £B/16/- per fine ounce, but despite that fact the employers have refused to increase wages beyond the figure that was awarded by the Court of Arbitration in 1931, when (he price of gold was £4/5/- per ounce. It is true that the gold tax has been imposed since 1931 —the present tax is 12/6 per fine ounce—but even after this tax is paid, the price of gold in New Zealand currency is approximately double that of 1931." For some years past I have been negotiating Agreements on behalf of the gold miners of New Zealand and the principal argument of the representatives of the Mine Owners has been that this abnormal increase in the price of gold was only temporal), and .that the price level of this commodity ‘would drop to £4/5/- as soon as economic conditions adjusted themselves. However, the price of gold (Stirling) for the past year has ranged from 137/2d per ounce to 141/4d, and the indications to-dav are that the price ot gold will increase. This has been demonstrated by the fact that when France went off the gold standard a few days ago. gold increased in a lew days by 3/- per fine ounce, and practically' all the recognised authorities on this question consider that in the end probably the value of gold yd be stabilised'at double its former value, namelv £9/10/- per fine .ounce. As one who has given consideration tothis question I have noticed a tendency all the time for the price of gold to .increase, whenever any nation uecides that paper currency' should lake its place.

INCREASED PROFITS. ( In ordinary industries where a sub- ( stantial increase in profits or dividends have been'obtained, it has been largely due to the efforts of the manage- < uient and those who have capital in- _ vested in the. industry; but not so m * this ease. Neither the management or ' those who have money invested in gold mines gave any service, whatever ' which would entitle them to the enor- . mous profits which those concerned . have made during recent years. They were fortunate of fours owning an industry which was affected by wor. . , financial conditions and by currenc;. questions generally, they nave therefore reaped a very rich harvest .vole out the expenditure of further <-ap't u and'indeed without any extra effort however. ' The workers employed in the industry on the other hand are m my opinion at least as essentml tor the production of gobi as those aj • i..'< invested capital in the industry, flu have performed all the dangerous am! unhealthy work and they have. bm n mainly instrumental in tie pioo.i-. •> of the commodity which ias s.-ilcl at increased values, but they have received no share whatever of the increased price of gold for the last . ive ~e.i's. It is difficult to understand the policy of the employers m connection with this dispute, for while they admit that the value of shares has inc <_as, and that profits have mounted seal after year they would not concede the. justifiable demands of the "'oikc.s that they are entitled to at least -ome share of these increased profits, have no hesitation in saying tha. n compulsory arbitration functioned in New Zealand during the period ol the 'rising prices in gold the Coin t nou.-i harden Ho l , h 1 ' /’j"': J made by the men and would have granted substantial increases tn wages during that period. The employers on the other hand took full advantage of the abolition of compu sory .urn tion and point blank retus 1 to> n crease wages beyond the U«H lov c . ( Indeed in this industry 1 , I ‘’’ ‘/M a great deal of effort on the pn of the Union and the men employed u the mines to compel the employeis concede to the rates of pay and conL tions of employment awarded bv t.iv Court of Arbitration in 1931. It ma be just as well at this juncture ’! 1 were to refer briefly Io the arguments I put forward bv the employers as proiiv able thev will be ii’tiodliccd dtlMg the' hearing of this dismite. The emplovers rlaim and riu'htdy sn / V nl , ing th(> War and post 'Aar periods v.yin bthe prices of other commodities -vcic k >dsirig. the price of gobi remained stan/Kfard, and while the costs of priniction i increased considerably (o the gold minI ing undertakings, the shareholders and L investors had uo means by which these ■ costs could be recouped by higher ■kiric.es. The reply to that argument —that prior to the War years those . gold mining ventures marie huge prot fits, many of the concerns hud substanI tial reserves which enabled then* to k- carry- on during the War ar. 1 postIWar years, but in the times of ;ncsperity the owners of some gold mines did. not increase wages, nearly all the

[surplus went to pay dividends. However, during the War and Post War years if gold standard prices affected the welfare of investors in the gold mining industry it equally riiected wages and conditions cf employment of the men engaged in -he mine. In this connection, the following statement was made by His Honour, Mr. Justice Stringer in his Memorandum to The Inangahua Gold Miners’ Award made on the 6th November, 1918, and recorded in Book of Awards Volume XIX at page 1055:— . “We have had considerable dif 11 culty in making an award in this oi.--pute. It was proved at the hearing that many of the mining companies cited are at present being worked at a loss owing to the enormous increase in the cost of various materials used in connection with the production ot gold, due to war conditions. Any increase, therefore, in the wages paid to miners must result in further ioss es. In most industries the increased cost of their products may be met by raising the selling-price of the commodities produced. This, however, is inapplicable to the case of the goldmining industry, inasmuch as the price of gold is standardized, and can rot. therefore, be increased. On the other hand, the wages paid to many classes of workers in the industry have, owing to the increased cost of living, tnilen so much in purchasing-power that they are no longer sufficient to provide a icasonable 'standard of living, especially in some of the more remote lo:al.ties where mining is carried on. It has been stated by this Court, and also by the Arbitration Court in Australia,"that if an industry cannot ;::y the workers engaged in it a reasonable living wage it is in the interests of the community that it should cease operations, and that such workers should become absorbed in some other and more profitable industry. If. as was-stated at the hearing, it is of great national importance at the present time that there should be no diminution'in the production of gold, then the'remedy for the present state oi affairs seems to be not to permit workers to be employed at less than a reasonable living wage, but tor some assistance to be given by the Government in the shape of a subsidy on tm value of all gold produced at a loss, or in some other way. After careful consideration of all the circumstances, and having regard to the fact that the miners engaged in work of an unpleasant and unhealthy character, we have come, to the conclusion that they are entitled to an increase of their wages to an extent which will substantially improve their present position. be have therefore granted to till workers a bonus of 2/- per full shift worked. AVe have fixed an all-round bonus rather I nan a percentage of wages paid, because the lower-paid workers, having the smallest margin for economy, are most in need of assistance. With regard to the hours of work, we have conceded the request of the workers that these should be shortened to forty-four hours by abolishmg the night shift on Sunday night and reducing the Saturday shifts. We think the alterations in working-con-ditions thus effected are reasonable considering the unhealthy nature oi the work and the evidence of the medical witnesses that such shortening ot hours would conduce to the better health of the workers, espeeiadv those working underground. With, the "e--duction of the hours of the Saturday shifts there follows a propo>Donate, reduction of pay and bonus for these shifts. With regard to battery workers, they a‘'e in 'an exceptional position, ami we think that the provision for eight days’ holiday in the year is fair find' reasonable, and we have not, therefore, made any alteration in the old award in this respect. At the hearing, the Miners representative made ia strong appeal to the Court to introduce some more stringent provisions in the award to mitigate the dust nuisance in mines, and so to minimize as far as possible the risks run by miners in contracting the dibease known as “miner’s phthisis.” It apeared at the hearing that the miners themselves frequently neglect to take advantage of (he preeautionaiy measures provided by the old awaid, and we did not see our way to impose any further duty upon the employers in this connection, involving as it would; heavy increase in the cost of working U’e mines. We have therefore repeated the provisions of the old award dealing with this matter, with the addition of a few words to make the duty of the miner to avail himself O'f the means provided more emphatic. We have unanimously agreed to the terms of this award, except as to the provision for the abolition of the Sun dav night shift, to which Mr. Scott desires to record' his dissent, on the ground that it will unduly restrict the companies in their output, and vid therefore operate unfairly against them.”

It will be noted from the foregoing jhat His Honour Air. Justice Stringer ] away back in 1918 thought that the wages of the workers engaged in this , Industry had fallen so much in pm- ( chasing-power that they were no long , er sufficient to provide a reasonable , standard of living for the workers and their dependents, and it is a " e ' known fact that the wages of gold miners right throughout New Zealand did not increase in the same proportion to the wages of workers engaged in other industrial occupations. The reasons given time alter time by- the Court of Arbitration were, that other employers could increase the value of the product to meet any increase in wages, not so in the gold industry, as gold was fixed at a price approximately £4 5s per ounce. During all these [years the men engaged' in the gold mining industry were subject to comparatively l,ow wages due to fact that the price o'f the commodity could not be increased. Now when the price of the commodity is increased to a greater degree l than any other commodity produced 'in this country, either durin-'- the War or the Post War years the employers still refuse to grant an increase in wages worse still they argue, and' indeed have been successful* up Io the present time, flint the standard,' of life of the miner which Wits fixed on a very low basis during the War-period, owing to the fact that gold prices were fixed, shall be maintained. even though the price of gold bias doubled' in recent years. The gold mining industry is in a more prosperous position to-day than at any time in the history of New Zealand. 1 he gold mining companies are not only receiving a higher price for gold but the values of their property has incresed materially, the paying life of the mine has been lengthened because they can now crush lower grade ore at a handsome profit when the price of gold is £8 H’s per ounce New Zealand currency. It would not of course be a payable proposition to work these ores previously. My first submission then is that the ,i mining companies have had a very

prosperous time during the past five yeatrs. The men who produce gold have not shared in that prosperity in any way whatever. The Court is asked the question to-day as to whethei these men are entitled to a share in that prosperity, and' I submit that the answer of the Court, must be “yes”. Mr Justice Stringer stated in 1918 that the wages of the workers in this industry could not be increased beyond a point that would enable them' to live a very moderate standard of life due. to the standard price of gold those days. -Surely they are entitled to .-ome compensation now when the price of gold has doubled and the industry is more prosperous than it has ever been.

WAGES. Under the last Industrial Agreement the wages of miners were —miners working machines in winzes or rises 16s 6d, all other miners 16s, ami' this has been the rate with the exception of a short period from' 1931—193'3 for the past 14 or 15 years, if a comparison is made between the class of work which a miner is called upon to perform, and it is undoubtedly skilled work of building roads ami railways ‘or the ordinary work performed by general labourers, it will not be necessarv for me to advance any argument whatever to show that the present rate paid to gold miners is inadequate. The men employed by the Public Works Department are paid a wage of 2s per hour and this is the rate generally paid to unskilled workers employed mi the surface throughout New Zealand to-day. Surely it will be admitted that the quartz m’ner who is working in a mine sometimes at a depth of 2 350 feet is entitled to a higher wage than men who are employed at ordinarily unskilled labour. In the first place the work performed by the miner is sk'Ued, it requires years of experience to become a fully qualified gold miner. What extra rate of remuneration over the ordinary unskilled worker, is the miner entitled to be

pa'd far the skilled work he is required to perform.’ The question of ski! 1 has not 1 submit been given due consideration by the Court of Arbitratin. This is due no doubt to the fact tha. in the past the Court was mainly concerned in granting an increase in wages rates to the men engaged in gold mining industry to enable them and their dependents to maintain some sort of a standard of living during the period that gold prices remained standardised and when there was a very rapid advance in the prices of other commodities. Skilled and semi-skilled work is paid on extra rate 'n other industries and no logical argument can be advanced why this in e should not be paid to the gold niiners. In the past the Gold Mine Owners claimed that the industry could' not afford to pay the increased rate, such an argument cannot be advanced now. for there is no industry in the country which is in n bettci position to pay a substantial increase in the rate of wages at the present time Secondly—The work of the gold miner is dangerous and it has long been recognised as such. This is exemplified by {he fact that the Union has kept records of accidents which j have occurred in the Blackwater Mnes I for some years past and' the average is over 100 per annum. The average number of men employed in that mine is about 200. and as accidents underground are more numerous than accidents which occur on the surface, it is safe to say that the gold miner meets with an accident during the course of his employment in *in aveiage period of two years, ft has been the custom of all wage fixing tribunals to take into consideration the risk of accident to workers in .assessing wage rates, and this is an industry in which the question of danger to the life and limb should be taken into consideration When a worker meets with tin accident in the course of his employment his income is lowered and hid expenses increased for the worker must obtain proper medical and surgical care all of which have to be paid for by the worker himself. Th i rdl y —Tsoi ation —A not h e r fa do r which we consider should be given due consideration by the Court of Arbitiation in assessing the wages of workers engaged in the gold mining industry is "the fad that these workers are isolated. the cost of living is higher and many <>f the social services "lrie.li are supplied in the cities and towns by either the Government or the local authority must be provided by Hie men themselves. These workers live together in comparatively small communities. the cost of transport of thecommodities which they require is us-u-ally very high. This of course increases their cost of living and from that point of view alone a higher wage should' be paid than to workers who are employed in the cities and towns. As stated previously this isolation Increases the cost of maintainance of n. family considerably as compared with a worker in the cities. The cost of secondary education to which we submit the worker’s children is justly entitled would be much higher to the worker employed in the Blackwater Mines, than, say, a worker employed in the town of Greymouth, and 1 am instructed to say -that the cost of living in the ordinary commodit'es used rrom day to day in the household are from 20 to 25 per cent higher than similar commodities could be purchased at Greymouth .or Christchurch. When the industry was not in a prosperous state and it was the desire of the Government of the country to keep the. industry going there may be reasons for not increasing wages those davs, but now., when the commodity that these workers produce “gold” has more than doubled its price in New Zealand Currency during the past six years, the incretse in wages is long overdue and should have been granted by the employers long before now.

WORKING LIFE. It has been estimated that the average working life of a quartz miner is about twenty years, but I am informed that (although the Blackwater Aline has been operating for 28 years there is not a miner alive to-day who has worked in that mine for 20 years. While in some mines workers are -compelled to cease work through having contracted Miner’s Phthisis between the age of 40-50 years, it would appear that in this mine the age at which men are laid off work through this disease is much less. Evidence will be called to prove this. We have at least three cases in the last three years of young men who never worked in any othe r mine and who were healthy normal men, but who contracted Miner’s Phthisis, one at the age of 28 years after six years’ work, another at the age of 30 years after 8 years’ work in the mine, anothor who started work at 20 years after 14 years service could

not continue work. All these workers arc in receipt of the Miner’s Pension. All these men started work in their early twenties and their average wwk:ng life was less than 10 years. It is admitted that there are other men who work in the mines 12, 13 and' 14 years but all these men are more or less affected with the Phthisis and unfortunately for them' in the near future they will be compelled to knock off wojki also. An important .point to which the Court should give serious consideration is that the average working life in othe r industries would probably be about 35 years at the lowest and in some industries it is 40 years. Surely the miner is entitled to some compenstaion for this shorter working life, and it is not only his working life that- is affected', but I am informed that the average life of a miner after he has been granted the pension is from live to seven years. These miners who work in a mine at 2,350 feet underground where the conditions of employment titre such that sooner or later they are bound to contract- this disease during their working life have been paid barely sufficient to maintain themselves and their dependents. This is no doubt due to the fact that tl ie industry could not afford it at that time. To-day it is admitted that the industry can 'tifford to pay a much higher wage. The men have received no for the increased price of gold ok the “gold' premium” as it is called, that all -went into the pockets of the shareholders. These shareholders did not contract- Miner’s Phthisis, they do not run the r isks that the miners run from day to day. They will not suffer the terrible paugs and agonies which arise from this dread disease. Surely the miner is entitled to some share. What about the miners’ dependents? Should not the Court take ’nto consideration the justifiable claim that during the short working life of the miner that he should earn a wage that would enable him to put something by to maintain him' and his dependents during the years when he will be. attacked by Miner’s Phthisis'? I have no hesitation in saying that there is no other section o.f workers in the Dominion more worthy of the sympathic consideration of the Court of Arbitration than the gold miners. They earn- on an industry which at the present time is most important for the economic life of New Zealand, it is an unhealthy dangerous occupation. These are skilled workmen and they are rendered incapable earlier than any other section of workers in New Zealand by sonithing over which they have no control. The Court has. a duty to protect these men and their dependents and this it_ can do best, by granting them a substantial increase in wages, an increase which we submit is long overdue. All the other workers mentioned in the schedule are working underground and are subject to the same risks and dangers as miners, and' while it is admitted that they aire not so liable to be affected by the dust, it is an unhealthy occupation. Some of these men are skilled workers and for many years the parties and the Court of Arbitration has adopted this classification, and whatever increase in wages the miners are to rec.eve. a. corresponding increase should be paid to all workers concerned. Lt would ■ take too mui'h time to deal with every section of workers mentioned in the schedule, but when the Court realises that these men are work.ng underground from 1.800 to 2.350 feet A will not lie necessary for me to deal in detail with the nature of the woftk and the necessity for these men being paid a reasonable rate of wages.

SURFACE MEN. Winding Engine Driver.-. L am informed that in the coal mines workers engaged in a similar capacity ;I re paid 23s 7d at the present time. J. think it will be admitted by the employers that a winding engine, driver in the Blackwater mines who lowdrs and hauls men from a depth of 2,3.>0 feet, in a vertical shaft, is engaged in a more responsible position than a winding engineer in a coal mine. Ihe wages of an ordinary winding-engineer we submit has been, far too low in the past. On these workers depend, to a large extent, the safety of the men. The slightest error of judgment may I'tiitse the loss of human life. We submit that the claim for a wage of 21/6 is reasonable ami should be granted by Ihe Court. Winding Engine Drivers require both Ist stationary and Ist class winding cert ifica tes. We ask that these men lie paid 23s Bd'. 'These are qualified men and any industry which requires the services of certificated men must pay an extra rate. A man that has a Ist class ticket is entitled to take charge of a machine of the highest horse power. These men have given years of service together with a considerable lot of study in order to obtain these certificates. They are in reality skilled men and that -skill ,-hould be paid' for. Hj am informed that this wage is paid to the men in coal mines and as I have already in fotrm'ed the Court the responsibility of a. winding driver is far greater in a deep shaft such as there is at the Blackwater Mines than there is in any of the coal mines in New Zealand. Stationary Ist class engine driver is also a. -killed trade and is recognised las such in every industry, and is thereIfoire paid a wage equal to the skilled mechanic. The claims are that he be paid a wage of 20s (id per shift. The wages for Stationary Engine Drivers with 2nd class ticket i.s 19s 6d. in view 'of the work that these men have to perform this wage should be greater.

THE GENERAL BLACKSMITHS. There are two Blacksmiths employed by this company. We tire asking for a ‘ wage of 22s 4d per shift folr these men. It is a recognised fact that a general blacksmith employed in a quartz mine must be a capable craftsman as he is compelled to undertake all kinds of repair work. In the General Engineers Award, Toolsmiths have been awarded a wage ot 2s Sd pei hour and many of them are paid as hmh as 2s JOd per hour. As one who ha's had 1 experience in the iron, trade-, ['have no hesitation in saying that, the work these men are engage 1 in re-, quires as m ieh skill. They are therefore entitled to the wage we are asking 22s 4d pei shift, l or BlacKsmi-m strikers we are asfeng .a wage of 18s 6d This is in line With the wage ot-frti-ed ■ to similar workers in the eug neering industry to-day. Tool sharpeners and carpenters and mdi wrights find fitters are skilled w-irgme 1 am are entitled to the rates we are asking. This is a rate of approximately 2s 8d per hour and after all the tacts are taken into consideration I consider I he rates asked for ore on the low side Timber framers and the men employed to square and fit timber for the mine

.are amongst the highest paid men in the present agreement, We are asking a wage of 21s 6d per shift. Under the 1931 award bushmen and tractor drivers were awarded a wage of one pound per shift. We are asking that that be increased to 245. These men are exposed to all weather conditions procuring the timber required for the mine. All the remaining section of workers are connected with the. battery work. I desire to point out however, the amalgamators aire skilled men who require a lot of experience before they can undertake this sort of work. These men have a lot of responsibility and' are responsible for the -actual work of extraction of the gold from the ore when it is crushed. For the whole of the men concerned we are asking for an increase in wages of 4s per shift, and in view of the increased price of gold and in view of the fact that the wages of these ■workmen have been kept down for a number of years 'when the price of gold was standarmed, we are of the opinion that the claim should be conceded. For a number of years the men who work on the night shift have been paid two hours a week more than the men employed on the day and afternoon shift. The Union is asking that this lie increased to a payment equal to 3 hours per week, and ■when the fact is taken into consideration that in other industries men who woirk at niglit-t’me are paid overtime rates this claim I consider very modest indeed. L desire to point out to the Court that the work undertaken by youths in this ndustry is not the same as work performed by youths in other industries. The youths tire employed in the batcry. They work three shifts and generally speaking they are engaged at (work fop which a man would be employed if youths were not available. You will note that the clause prohibits the youth from one or two classes of work only and this would indicate vdry clearly that the youths engaged at the Battery are employed at the general work and take the place o.f adult workers. The rate of 12s 6d pe r shift is quite reasonable.

(CONTRACT OR PIECE WORK. We are asking the Court to abolish the contract or piece work sys.em and while we admit that this is a departure from the conditions which existed in previous agreements and awards we submit that we ae justified in mak ing this claim. The contract or piece work system in stopes was only introduced in the West Coast as late tis 1912. Since that year great advances has been made ,n the direction of improving conditions in the mine from the point of view of the health of the workers employed. such as the water liner dr.ll and improvements in ventilation. Yet we .find that three i.s no decrease in tlie number of men who contract miner’s phthisis. That is to say, for every 100 men engaged in quartz inning in the .Blackwater Alines to-day the percentage per annum who are medically declared to lie- suffering From Miner’s Phthisis is as great, as it was 25 years ago. We know that the improvements introduced should bring about a corresponding improvement in tlie health of the men and we believe that this would have been the case but for the contracting or speeding-up system. It may be .argued that facilities a.re available for the men and that therefore it is their own fault that they do not use the appliances available for spraying the broken ore and faces, we must admit that this to some extent is true but there is always the tendency in the case of any speeding up system to neglect or forget about till safeguards for health and we desire io point out that when one or two men neglect to sp'ray this dust, the dust travels with the air course right through the mine and endangers the health of the other men engaged in the mine who may have taken evety precaution to spray the dust. We have no hesitation in saying that the contract or piece work system has been to a large extent responsible for the prevelance of the miners complaint during the last twenty-five years, and if the Court will abolish this system if will in our opinion do more to protect the health of |hesc workers than any other method that could be established. As evidence will he called io substantiate the foregoing statement. I' do not desire to refer to it. further at- this juncture. Under the present award the men are paid on the 4th and 19th, of each mouth. 'This makes pay-days irregular, and we are first asking that the payday shall be every alternate Friday. The workman is entitled to be paui regularly and in fact in any other industry the men are paid weekly. We cannot understand any objection on the part-’ of the management to this claim. Another alteration that we desire and which I submit to the, Court is absolutely necessary is that -the men working on the afternoon shift should be paid not later than 10 a.m. on the Friday morning. At the present time they are paid about 3 p.m. and this means that the men have to take their pay with them to -work. This is not fair to the men. they may lose

their pay and there is also the likelihood of their pay being stolen. Apart from anything else the wolrker is entitled to be paid 1 his wages at a convenient time and the mine owner is very Ifortunate indeed in this matter,’because in most other industries the Court of Arbitration insists that payment shall bo made during the employer’s tinic, in other words, the worker ’s paid fo,r the time he is drawing his pay. "We would ask the Court to make this clear in the award: —‘Firstly that pay-day shall be every alternate Friday, and secondly, that the men on the afternoon shift shall be paid not later than 10 ia.m. on thp Friday morning. I understand that there is no difficulty in this matter as the wages are taken to the Blackwater Mines the day previously.

HOLIDAYS. Clause 5 (ci) has been agreed to, bu' no agreement has been arrived at in sub-clauses b, and e. I 'would like to draw attention of the Court., that payment for certain holidays is provided by law under “The Factories Act..’’ Section 14 prescribed that live of the statutory holidays shall be padi for. Recently an industrial agreement was entered into between the Minister of Public Works and the representative of the New Zealand Workers’ (Inion which provides as follows:— “(a) AVorkmen with not less than two months of continuous service shall be entitled to the following seven statutory holidays on pay: New Year’s Day,'Good Friday. Easter Monday, Birthday of the reigning- Sovereign, Labour Day. Christmas Day and Boxing Day. \ (b) Workmen with at least, twelve

I months of continuous service shall be entitled to two weeks of leave per annum in addition to the seven statutory holidays, and shall be paid for five days of the annual leave if their “continuous service is unde r two years, and for ten o.f the working days of the annual leave if they have two years of continuous service o r over to their credit.” It would be noted from the foregoing that the Government interprets the recent legislation to mean, that the workers will be paid full time for all statutory holidays, and we see no reason whatever why the men who are employed at mining should not be paid for these holidays also. With reference io annual holidays it would be noted that the Public Works Department allows ten annual holidays if the worker has two year's service, five if he has only one year's service, and in a recent, agreement- made between the West Coast Dredge and Alluvial Miners. provision is made for a seven days holiday on full pay to all workers after one year's service. We submit that in view of the foregoing, our claim is a most reasonable one and as already stated the Government Departments are interpreting the reeent Labour Legislation to mean -that the workers are entitled to an annual holidav as well as payment for the statutory holidays. With retcrence "o annual holidays the only question involved hero is payment, tor the mine works are closed down tor at least ten days at Christmas time.

OVERTIME. Sub-Cfltuse (b) has been agreed ro by the parties but sub-clause (a) has not. With reference to the question of overtime. L am instructed to say that he men employed at the mine do not want any overtime at all. and I submit that after a man has worked a full eight hours in any occupation in connection with mining he does not want to be called upon to perform overtime work. Therefore we regard the double rate for overtime as a penalty against this work being performed." Apart from the fo.regong. we interpret .he recent legislation parsed by (he Government to mean that- overt mo should' be discouraged as much a-' possible and that more labour should Im employed during the ordinary work- ' g hours and we rubmi: that tnis can be done in connection with any work

I-: connection with the mining. The Dourf an help cons'derably in this connection by increas.ng the overtime rate, for then the employer will see to it that more labour is employed, for he will not P n .v the higher rate of pay provided by the award. Clause 7 Sub-elause (a) has been tigreed' to by the parties. Sub-elause" (b) Tlfs i.s probably the most important clause in dispute as it deals with the hours of work for men emploved underground and the members of the Court will note that the claim is for a seven hour shift of five shifts per week for all underground workers except chambermen who are employed in wef places or ;u the return air-way. The Court has recently granted the ■f<irtv-four to several sections of wothers employed in the surface- and in view of the recognised unhealthy nature of this occupation wo consider that all workers who are employed underground in this mine should be allowed shorter working time than men employed on the surface where normal conditions prevail. The. opinions expressed by medical experts is that, shorter working t'me underground and more frosh air and leisure time would be one of the best safety measures against miners contracting Miners Phthisis. No apology need be made for the claims of the 3o hour week, foi tht men engaged in actual mining work oi for underground workers in a quartz, mine, as it- is recognised as being one of the most unhealthy occupations in the world.