Sympathy Strike in Southern Coal Mines

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7296, 5 August 1930, Page 7

Sympathy Strike in Southern Coal Mines

NO WORK AT WAIRAKEI. Per Press Association. INVERCARGILL, Last Night. As a Tesulfc of the dismissal of 1 1 ment at the Wairakci Coal Company’s mine the remaining 20, it is stated, decided to down tools in a sympathy strike. According to a statement issued by the manager (Mr J. T. Mosley) the men held a stop-work meeting on July 21 and tho management had good reason to believe that they passed a resolution limiting their output to eight boxes per man per day in solid work and ton in pillars and tops. Mr Mosley proceeds: "On Friday, July 25th a notice was posted dispensing with the services of all men engaged on or subsequent to May 13th, 1929, and from August 2, 1930, and cancelling all prospecting work. "On Monday, July 2Sth another stopwork meeting was held, and I accompanied the managing director who addressed the meeting, explaining the financial position of the company and referring to the impossibility of carrying on with the rapidly rising costs and decreasing output. Wo then retired and left the men to themselves. "Some time later the union secretary accompanied by two workmen’s delegates met the managing director and myself on the question of restoring the back shift, prospecting work and sharing the work with the temporary men. We refused the first two conditions and on the third question wo gave them to understand that providing they resumed the normal output wc were willing to either allow temporary men to share work or dispense with them as regular hands. "It was decided that after lunch tho same delegation meet mo in tho office and they informed me that they had decided to share work with tho temporary hands. On my stressing the point of resumption of the. normal output they merely reiterated their statement about sharing work and declining to admit that there was restriction of output in operation. "On acquainting the managing diree., tor of the men’s decision he instructed me to close down the plant. At a subsequent mooting of directors it was decided to open the mine for work under normal conditions this morning. ‘ ‘ Word was received from Ohrii this afternoon that the men had presented terms to tlSo management this morning, and that their request regarding sharing work at the Wairakci mine had been declined.” At a special general meeting of the Nightcaps District. Miners’ Union yesterday the following resolution was carried unanimously: "That in the event of the Wairakci men rejecting the owners’ terms they would receive both the financial and moral support of the whole district.”