INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE

Grey River Argus, 17 October 1936, Page 10

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE

INANGAHUA MINERS Case for the Union The case for the .Tnangahtwi Gold Miner's Union, recently before the Arbitration Court, at Reefton, was concluded by Mr. J. Roberts, Secretary of the N.Z. Alliance of Labour, as follows; — We .'ire of the opinion that the ,'l5 hour week is essential, for the welfare of the .men employed. The shorter working week will enable the men to spend more time in the fresa air and away from an occupation which is so injurious to health. The “dust” ,;,s it is generally termed affects the men at any age. lai the case of one worker employed at the Blackwater Mine he was declared medically unfit for further work at the age of 28 years, he was employed in the mine for a period of 61 years only. If tnese workers were granted the 7 hour shift and the 5 day week, and in addition were £• .’lowed two full days off each week ay ay fiom the occupation it would l.c.p materially to maintain normal health. Indeed it would not be going too far co say that the : n‘.ro<tue:7on of the .'l5 hour week would relieve the financial responsibility id' the Government. as the amount paid by way of miners’ pensions would be eonsidera!ly rr dticed. Apart from the foregoing phe Court has, [ submit, a duty to protect, these workers. Their health and well-being generally is an asset to the nation, for after till it is these workers who actually produce the wealth obtained by the gold mining industry of New Zealand. If shorter working time will safeguard the health of these men, and all medical evidence is most definite that it is the most if not the only real safeguard, then I submit that the Court should have no hesitation in awarding a condition of employment that will save the life of the miner and the sull'erings caused by that dread disease —Miner's 'Phthisis. A section of Sub-clause b) suggests to the Court, that one hour shall elapse from the time one shift ceases work from the time on shift ceases work until the next shift starts work. Good reasons can be advanced for this claim'. When the men cease work all the shots are fired. The one hour between shifts will give time to remove the smoke and fumes from the work'ng faces. Shots are also fired at midday and ihe time suggested between one shift ceasing work and the other shift commencing will allow all .the working places to freshen up. With reference to the claim for six hour shifts tfor chamber-men. One shaft where the ( .hamber-man works has been agreed as being a wet place

for some years, and six hours are workled there at present. At 'the other shaft six hours shifts are also being worked at present. The men get more or less wet working in this place and in addition as this shaft is the upcast shaft or the return air-way from the mine, these men are therefore breathing impure air and should' not he asked to work longer than six hours. With reference to the hours of work for men employed on the surface. The. claim is for live shifts per man per week of 8 hours per shift. Al present the men employed at the battery, work 4(1 hoars per week, and no logical reason can be advanced why these workers should not be allowed the benefits of the recent. Labour Legislation. As it may be argued that the reduction in the weekly hours of work would reduce the output from the mine as the present system could not cope with the production of ore if the battery workers were granted the 40 hour week, there is no reason why. the treatment plant should not be- extended, indeed an extension has been made during the past few months, May 1. say that the manager’s report of

19.34-35 suggested' that this extension be made and the plant has been so extended by ten head of stamps being erected. If a further similar extension of the plant were made 1 am informed that it could easily cope with the production of the ore from the mine by working the'4o hour week. Apart from the foregoing as the workers employed in mining properties in the Reefton District are more or less living in isolated communities they are. entitled' to the two full days time off at the week-end. This will enable them to visit the local centres of population, do their shopping and allow some r eereation away from the. place of their employment.

With reference to other surface workers there is no reson whatever, why these men should not. be awarded ihe 40 hour week. If they cannot cope with the work, that difficulty can easily be overcome by employing more labour, and as the industry is at present i n a most prosperous position it is only fair that it should pull its load by the way of giving more employment to the unemployed workers of New Zealand. iSub-clause (e). In this clause we are' asking far similar conditions as those granted to the coal miners for many years, that is, when a worker is employed in a wet place rhe six hours shall count from bank to bank.

The clause in the present agreement is a relic of the bad old days before the bank to bank clause was included in the Mining Act and this reform is long overdue. The workers employed on the eight-hour .shift are paid “bank to bank” and' no logical argument can be advanced why the same provisions should not apply to men working a sixhour shift in wet places. The subclause submitted in the claim is exactly the same as that contained in the coal miners agreement, which has been tigreed to by the parties for years past. Clause 8. The parties have agreed that this clause be struck out. Clause 10 and 11 are agreed to, and with reference to clause 12 the parties af the Court’s preference shall be in--eluded in the award'. Term of award has been .agreed to by the parties. COMPANY’S FINANCIAL POSITION While it is very difficult to obtain much information, first as to .actual capital invested in the .Blackwater Mines, the second, as to (he dividends paid to the parties interested from year to year, the reports published from time to time in the Press show that good dividends have been paid during the past four or live years. A repoit. published in the “Mining World” on Saturday the Ist July 1933 dealing with the Balance-Sheet of the Blackwater Mines Ltd. under the head-

ing of “Promising Outlook” states that: —

“During the year 41,402 tons of ore wei c crushed and the bullion recovered realised a. total of £133,851, as against £97,956 for the previous year. Interest and sundry other receipts bring Hie total income for the year up to £135,861. Expenditure on working costs, administration etc. totalled £66,690 .leaving a profit of £69,171, a.n increase of £31.882 over the previous year. Against this sum £1,375 has been written off for depreciation, £8,540 for development expenditure and £22.500 set aside as a reserve for U.K. and N.Z. Income Tax.” In that year the company paid a dividend of 2/6 pe r share free of income tax and carried' forward to reserves the sum of £14,500: In addition the company paid oil' a loan to the New Zealand Government, of £5,788 which the report states figures as u liability in the previous balance sheets of the company for some years. In the same year a suin' of £31,562 appears to be carried to the reserve account for sundry creditors and taxation. The ore crushed amounted to 41402 tons and the value of the bullion extracted was £135,851 or approximately 64/6 per ton. The working costs for the year amounted to 32/61 per ton N.Z. currency, and the average price of gold for the year under review was 118/ld per fine ounce. The annual report published by the company for 1934 shows that the value of the gold recovered (amounted to £.105218 15s lid sterling, and the working profit for that year in Stirling. £56,770, 6s -Id The price of gold for that year averaged J4O/7d per fine ounce. A dividend of 2/6 per share was paid and a. sum oi £24,238 17s 7d wuis carried to reserves. A report published in the “Mining World” on June 20th. 1936 states that the ore milledi in 1935 was 45660 tons and the total value of the gold produced £139,953 sterling or 61/31 per ton milled. After paying all liabilities for the year there remained a. profit of £63.196 or 27/8 per ton milled. A dividend of 3/- per share was paid and the sum of £20.000 was carried forward to reserves. In addition to the foregoing the sum of £14,000 was expended in the jmrcha.se of new plant and machinery and buildings and the sinking of Ihe prohibition shaft. The average value of gold per fine oz. in that- year was 141 s lid and may Ii say 'that there was an actual reduction in working costs as compared with the previous year of 9d per ton of ore milled, I have also received reports of the

I business of the Consolidated' Gold ’ Fields of New Zealand Ltd. I regret to say, however, that I have not been ’ able io follow the ramifications of this ’ company, or how far these two eom--1 panics are dovetailed in business transactions. Ln other words I have not been able to ascertain whether the (‘onsolidated Gold Fields of New Zea- - laud Ltd', controls the Blackwater ■ Mines Ltd., or whether the Blackwater * Mines Ltd., controls Consolidated Gold- ' fields. The reports show that the two ' companies have the same chairman of - directors and the same secretary and also the same general manger m New Zealand. We do know that ike Con1 solidated' Gold Fields are not producing gold at present and have not pro- ! ditcetl gold for years past, yet dividends are paid from' the profits made by the operations of the Blackwater Mine, The dividends paid were 1932- ■ .3.3 Is ,3d per share. .1933-34 Is 3d per 1 share, 19.34-35 ]/(j per share. 1 am reliably informed that the shares of the Consolidated Gold Fields of* New Zealand' Ltd. had no market value in 1931. At the present 'time shares are quoted 'at 17 shillings. The Blackwater shares were quoted in 19.31. when the Court made the award in this industry at .3/- per share. The present market value is quoted at £1 lls per share. The increase i.n the market -value of the shares is the best indication of the. prosperity of this mining company. 'The foregoing will give the Court some Indication of the increased prosperity which has boon brought about by the increase in the price of gold since the Court of Arbitration made the 19.31 award when the price of gold was than only £4 5s per fine oz. During the past five years the company has paiil increased dividends to shareholders, the value of its properly and shares has increased tenfold, but the workers have not shared in this prosperity. The first question which the Court should’ determine, is whether when an industry becomes suddenly prosperous without any extra expenditure of capital or effort on the part of those who have capital invested all those concerned should not share in that prosperity. It must be obvious to the mine owners that the workers who are the principal factors in the production of the commodity will not remain passive to the present position whereby the whole of the gold premium is pocketed by the shareholders. They claim, and rightly so, that as workers in the industry who have to run the rist's of life and limb from day to day and who. through the unhealthy nature of the Industry. itself, which must of a. certainty shorten the -working life 1 of. the miner, that their standard of t and general welfare should' be I the first considenation. < 'The claims made, are we submit, 1 moderate indeed, when the enhanced ’ price of the commodity they produce is 1

taken into consideration. The workers tire asking for an increase in the wage nates of 20 per cent, the price of gold has increased over 100 per cent since 1931, and I am informed that the working profits of the company Ims increased fully 300 per cent, since that year. The market value of the shares has increased from 3s in 1931 to £l. 14s in 1936. These facts alone should be sufficient to prove to the Court that the increase in wages asked for should be conceded', but there are other factors, the value of the property has been increased, the life of the mine has been lengthened and this means assured dividends to shareholders for years to conic. On the other hand, the life of the miner is shortened by being employed in the production of gold and ins the only dividend he receives is his daily wages the only way the worker can bo recompensed is by a substantial increase in wages.

■’llf the commodity produced by the workers in tiny other industry increased 10(t per eent in five years, I have no hesitation in saying that, the emplovers in that industry would have conceded the increase in wages and allowed' the conditions of employment contained in the claims made by this Union. Why should the Gold Mining Industry not Im compelled to treat its employees in a similar manner. The workers have tried by negotiation to obtain the concessions to wh'ch they are justly entitled but the employers refused to give these concessions any serious consideration whatever. The

gold' miners in the Reefton district now appeal to the Court for eeonom'e justice. We hiave proved that, this industry can pay the wages and allow the conditions of employment contained in the claims of the Union and a! the same time return a handsome dividend to the investors. We now leave our case in your hand's, gentlemen, witli every confidence that; the increases in wages and conditions of eniplovment which should have been conceded voluntarily by the company concerned will be awarded by the Court of Arbitration.