More British Miners Out

Northern Advocate, 28 August 1947, Page 7

More British Miners Out

(Rec. 1 p.m.) LONDON, August 27. Forty thousand tons of coal have now been lost as a result of a stoppage at the Grimethorpe colliery. Yorkshire.

The men defied their union's plea for work to be continued and have been suspended. Two thousand five hundred men at Hatfield colliery,. near Doncaster, stopped work until the claims of the Grimethorpe men are met. Local union officials appealed to the Hatfield men to stay at work until the week-end.

The men refused and a sympathy strike began with the afternoon shift. The local branch secretary said the men reached their decision after hearing the report of Sir Noel Holmes, the Coal Board’s north-east regional chairman, on the Grimethorpe position. The secretary added: “Our men interpreted the report as meaning that the Grimethorpe men were discharged.” TECHNICALLY SACKED A further 2700 miners at Frickley joined the Hatfield strikers in sympathy with the Grimethorpe men. They said they would try to persuade other pits to join them. The Daily Mail says the Grimethorpe men are technically sacked, but were offered a loophole to return. Sir Noel Holmes said pit ponies had been taken out of Grimethorpe shafts.

"We mean business and we are going to be quite firm in future,” he said.

“You cannot run a business if you don’t know whether 150 or 300 men are going to turn up. “Absenteeism has got to stop.”

The Ministry of Labour said it was doubtful whether the men would be entitled to unemployment pay as they were responsible for their own dismissal and had defied their union.

Moreover, they were still subject to the control of engagements ordc-r and could not accept other work outside the coal industry without permission. Since nationalisation and prior to the strike there have been 26 unofficial stoppages at Grimethorpe colliery causing a loss of 33,000 tons of coal. The present stoppage has already caused a less of 40.000 tons.