Efforts to Settle Huntly Mine Dispute

Grey River Argus, 24 August 1948, Page 5

Efforts to Settle Huntly Mine Dispute

AUCKLAND, August 22 It is apparent that the MacDonald, Glen Afton, and Pukemiro coal mines will again be idle to-morrow. However, negotiations were begun to-day under Mr A. Prenderville (president of the United Mine Workers’ National Council) and will continue to-mor-row with a conference between the MacDonald mine management and the miners’ representatives. No developments occurred at the meeting of men from the three mines on strike held in Huntly on Saturday morning. There was far from r full attendance of the 700 men on strike. Addresses urging the miners to return to work and to allow constitutional methods of settling their claims to prevail was made by Mr 1. Hall and Mr R. J. Dunn, members of the United Mine Workers’ Council, but as the meeting, was called solely to receive reports, no vote on the strike issue was taken. The situation was described after the meeting as being “completely unchanged. Mr Prenderville, who was a member of the Coal Mines Council as well as the -miners’ national president, came up from the South Island in response to a request from the M ac " Donald miners. He had a four-hour conference this afternoon with the executive of the Northern Miners Union, and the committee of the men on strike. The only outcome of the meeting announced was that rvrr Prenderville had requested the MacDonald management to meet members of the United Mine Workers’ National Council and representatives of the miners on strike to-morrow morning, and that the management has agreed. No chance was seen or work resuming to-morrow at the three mines involved. n f The strike began in the middle oi the week before last. It concerns the rate of pay for special wor js Perform ed by two miners in the MacDonald mine and has been marked by a refusal of the strikers so far to submit their cause to arbitration. It hass also been notable for the lack ° £ suppor given to the strikers by the union as a The I 6 Rotowaro, Alison, Renown,

Wilton State, and local open cast mines have continued to work without interruption. The coal production loss so far is 10,400 tons. HOPES OF SETTLEMENT AUCKLAND, Aug. 23. . The feeling in Huntly to-day is that the strike in the three idle mines will soon be settled, and that there is a possibility of a resumption tomorrow. The negotiations were continued at a meeting to-day, to which the president of the United Mine Workers’ Council, Mr A. Prenderville, came from the South Island to discuss the situation. Big users of coal in Auckland are scraping near the bottom of their bunkers. The position is described as precarious, but not yet critical.