16 PITS IDLE

Grey River Argus, 24 August 1945, Page 5

16 PITS IDLE

N.S.W. COAL STRIKE Question of a Bathroom SYDNEY, Aug. 23. Thirty miners marched on Rhondda colliery last night, tore out partitions from the old bathroom and completed construction of the new bathroom. These thirty men were on strike in sympathy with the Rhondda stay-in strikers who ceased work on Monday morning, because their new bathroom was not completed. The Newcastle police were called to the mine and Commonwealth peace officers were also present. The colliery manager later stated: “This lawlessness must be put down. We are taking definite action to end it.” The completion of the bathroom was planned to end the stay-in strike but Rhondda men are still underground.’ They came part of the way up the tunnel and discussed the situation with officers of other district lodges and then took a 'vote. The majority of the men decided that although the bathroom was completed they would not go to the surface until hot water was available. (Rec. 10.5). SYDNEY, August 22. Eight of the New South Wales mines were idle to-day.over the bathroom. Three hundred miners, ■at two more northern pits, went on strike, _in sympathy with the “stayin” strikers at the Rhondda colliery. All told, there were sixteen pits not working to-day. This resulted in a total loss of 17,000 tons of output, and this has happened one day after the announcement of the rail service cuts, and after the warning by the Coal Commissioner, Mr Mighell, that the industries would have to -be curtailed owing to the coal shortage. The Rhondda men who have been staging the “stay-in” strike since Monday morning, came out of the pit today after having been down 75 hours. But before, they had come up, two other collieries had gone on strike in sympathy.