Majority Of Miners Returning To Pits

Northern Advocate, 14 March 1944, Page 3

Majority Of Miners Returning To Pits

LONDON, March 13.

Reports from Cardiff late last night indicated that nearly 50,000 of 96,000 striking coalminers in South Wales have decided to obey union leaders and resume work today. About 24,000 voted to stay on strike. Results of a ballot in a number of lodges are still outstanding. Some Reverse Decisions Although striking miners in South Wales decided at the weekend by 60,963 votes to 43,248 to resume, many of them did not start work today. About 30,000 miners resumed but, at a number of collieries, men held pithead meetings and . reversed their earlier decision to resume work.

The Cardiff correspondent of the Press Association says that the strikers are in a truculent mood and completely out of hand as far as central leadership is concerned. The executive council of the South Wales Miners’ Federation urged those who had voted against resumption to return to work immediately in accordance with the majority decision so that negotiations for removal of grievances may proceed as soon as possible. The president of the federation (Mr Horner) stated that the majority of men returned to work this morning. Miners Vote To Resume By a majority of 105 votes, striking miners on south coast coalfields of New South Wales today decided to resume work tomorrow. Voting was: For resumption 898, against 793. The dispute, which began at Coalcliff on February 14, resulted in a loss of 230,000 tons of coal.