THE MINERS' STRIKE

Northern Advocate, 22 April 1921, Page 2

THE MINERS' STRIKE

The psirtics to the coal strike in .jrcat Britain have apparently been i.nnrhing time during the past few days, for the cable has not indicated that any really serious effort is, being made to find a solution of the difficulty. The miners, of course, are awaiting the result of the discussion that, is to take place to-day, and until they 'arc ready to move the owners cannot <lo much to mend matters. What

tlio outcome of the next conference )))i\v be il is impossible- at this distanceto surmise, for it seems that many of 'he minors aw slil de'termmed to maii:i:u!i their demands, and the militant section muy dominate the rest. The minors ar • ostensibly contending for n principle that can only lie -regarded a< hopelessly wrong. They ask that 'he whole mining industry should bo treated as one big business, the pro-*j /its and losses being pooled, so that if any profits were earned the owners ot the mines wuulil receive a standard return for their capital and the miners would receive a standard minimum wfip'e, I- has been shown, however, that during the past few months the industry as a whole has bom making a loss, different districts showing a deiiciency ranging from n .shilling to a pound on each ton of coal raised. Under -uch circumstances the pooling scheme could not help the industry, IVv it vwiiild compel some owners to .-••iibniir to still greater losses lhan Ihey

are suffering at present. A striking picture of the results Miai would follow t> scl)cine of pooling was recently

dravin by ?ur Evan Williams, president of the British Alining Association. "Where," he a<ked, "is the incentive to the individual to manage his colliery eliieiently so as to produce Hie oreat-.e.st output at the lowest possild" cost, to improve mo Winds of workingbv iiitivibiciiig- in,-ii-lii:um v, aiiil to ex]ien<l capilal Id gel. Hie ly-M icsul!W lie knows that in ihe event of a loss it will lie made up. and ' f ' '';•

makes iiioiv dian a cerirfm prolil it will bp taken i'rom him.' I 1 is jusl :i.s if the mhier who earns iworo lhan :ho minimum wa'gi! lir\(l to contribute to make up the Avaye of those In-low the minimum. What output oo you think we. should gel on that principle? Wha' would the coal to got, and w!ifit would the home consumer have to ptsy' What ehaia'e would we have of competing with other countries, regaining our foreign markets, r.nd working up again the export, irart? which ia so es sential to the life of the nation? Industry wcnild die nnd the comnmnily" would starve." The probability tlmt pooling would kill enterprise nml eneoum'j,e inefficiency certainly wonl-l constitute a s™ vc national unnger, bul some of the miners apparently will not be convinced on this point. Tfr'ir strike i--* directed primarily against, a , reduction of wages, tlve men demand--1 ing wages which the industry was able to pay only while export and bunker er.nl were bringing pTic-os far in excels of those ruling to-day. Yet in the fnce or this fact the ntfners are urging the adoption of a system 'thnX would rodr.ee tho industry to tho lowest level of efficiency, an-1 nt the same time they arc risking for impossible wsiges. When they are told that the coal industry has been lo?ing two millions sterling a week they suggest -that the Government should make up the difference between the wages ■that the industry can pay and ihe nmounls that they themselves think th".V should receive. The suggestion made by Mr Hodges, secretarv of Il:e Miners' T'edoration, Avhen 'the matter was uml.u-discus-ion at the end of February, was that the only way tho coal industry teuld be revived was by "treating the ■Mil trade as a. national asset, coal being sold at less lhan cost and the ! difference between cost and price being- paid by Government gratuity to owners, however, have tried to overment h-vs firmly opposed the idea of ■axing other indus-tries in order to pay a consicteraole proportion of the wages bill in "".he mining industry. The coal iwner:!, howevere, have tried to overborn j the obstinacy -of the miners by offering- a scheme that retains some of (he features of the national pool proposal. They suggest that a national

■,-asvcs board should deal with principles applicable to tin whole industry, and thoso principle- should l»e applied hi determining the v.-nges iu the v;uious districts according to the financial .•esuV:s obtained frnn the mines. The minimum wages should hi fixed on a national basis, the miners receiving in .■•ddilion the wrplus revenue available in ouch district. The owners also nlr>r a conference to deal'with, the wigos of the lower pni-J, ir.pn, an agreement for the national settlement of a basis on which the relation of wages to pvoiils may be fixed and. a joint audit of owners' books on bohalf of the nvuer; ami the workers. These proposals- undoubtedly represent a very considerable -concession on -the part of the owners, and they will probably be discussed at to-day's conference. The secretary of the Miners' PVsderation, who has suggested that the wages question s-hould be discussc-1 f«part from that of 'the pool, sec-ms to have beer striving hard to secure a means of overcoming the immediate difficulties, and his success would mean the termination oJ: the strike.