KING'S BIRTHDAY

Grey River Argus, 3 June 1937, Page 4

KING'S BIRTHDAY

Holiday in Coal Mines

The King's Birthday holiday will be observed at all th e coal mines on June 9th, instead of on the actual date, December 14 th, according to a statement made last evening by Mr A. MeLagan, Secretary of the United Mine Workers of New Zealand.

Mi- McLagan also stated' that the companies operating in the West Coast district and Waikato districts, 'had paid a full day’s wages for the recent /Coronation holiday, but flhat no decision had yet been received from 'the Southland district companies. State Miners’ Union (To The Editor). I iSir. —Regarding the reply of the Minister of Mines, to the. Runanga Borough Council, may I point out ''o your readers some very important factors in connection with the above, which were evidently omitted by the Minister in his report. • First of all, the request made to him was that the Liverpool Mine be worked more regularly. Suiely the request was reason, able enough. For a leply we are the recipients of a conglomeration o f Departmental figures, which quote some of the highest averages, and which we are quite aware of. There was no need to put the staff of the Mmes Department to all this. It must have taken a couple of days to supply a statement of this description. But now I will quote some interesting facts o the lower-paid workers. Here are the pav tickets of a bins y-orker (it is these that count). Bottom of acker actually taken home:— ’ January 22nd, 1937, 9. days £6 1* for fortnight. ■| February sth, 9 days, £6 las 3d foi fortnight. February 19th, 10 days, -s "d for fortnight. March sth, 8 days, £5 19s 4d, foi fortnight. 1 March 19th, 7 days, fco 3s 4d, to.

fortnight. „ April 2nd, 5 days, £3 11s 6d, for fortnight. , This was the time of th e two 'days 1 we were accused of losing. Our- pro. e test started here. n April 16 th, 5 days, £3 16s 4d for . f Z?’ 3 oth, , any,, «' 183, * r a.y S , «. i«» H T fortnight. J May 28th, 10 days, £8 0s lid tor ® Making a total of £5B 9s for fi'e months, thereby giving approximately £5 16s lOd per fortnight, or £- 5d per week. Now this is tt mar-neo man, and he is expected to pay rates, ground rent, electric lights, grocer, butcher and milkman out of this amount; but I am arraid h e would have to be a. vegetarian and -then it ,’s impossible. So the request was not much after, all. Now referring to the time lost through our own fault, 1 wish the readers to know that the State Miners’ Union decided not to be idle on 'St. Patrick’s Day (a day that they have declared a holiday for the last a 20 years) so we worked on that JayThen th e Department had the Liver. h pool Mine idle on the following two “ days. One of the usual excuses was ’ again u.-ed'. The Runanga Borough t Council some three or four months ago

.requested the support of a port at Point Elizabeth. This, it was stated, could not be entertained. But what, alternative improvement to the present port facilities was offered. Has the port of Greymouth to remain the same as it is now, for the unlimited years to come? Now, I do not want to y-eary readers with a lot of stuff they alrea'dv know, but I wish them to know 'that the Mines Department have received this last two years every sis'tance in the general working of the mines from the men employed, and I think that the local Department offi-

eials will substantiate this, and' are also willing to appreciate same. Now, what is wrong with the request made? The following is a. married trucker’s pay for the 16th April, 1937; 5 days 3 hours, £4 13s 2d. This is for two weeks,. He must be on the basic wage. What the State miners want is work on full time, and not excuses as to why we are idle They can’t live on expla. nations. Some three months ago extra miners were wanted bn the coal at the Liverpool mine to replace men off work, so as to bring the output up to tons per day, because it was said wq could not fulfil our orders. A week after we were on slack time. At the James mine, the coal is so hard miners will not say. I don’t blame them. Remember I am mostly concerned about the low-paid worker, as the above £4 13s 2d will buy less of the necessaries of life than it would in 1934. All we expected t 0 our request was a satisfactory reply, stating that it would! be complied with, and a Ittle generous consideration of tlhis description would have been appreciat. ed by all. I am etc., WILLIAM PENDLEBURY, Runanga, 2/6/37.