Clerical Workers' Grievance

Northern Advocate, 1 September 1947, Page 5

Clerical Workers' Grievance

Burnley miners’ leaders decided to recommend, their men to observe Burnley’s autumn holiday on September 8, 9 and 10, despite the Coal Board's recommendation that pits should be kept working. A Burnley Miners’ Association official said the men resented the Coal Board’s failure to consult them about holiday arrangements. The Coal Board, in a statement, denied responsibility for the grievance of the clerical workers at the collieries about union recognition. The Clerical Workers’ Union today gave notice that it will call out its 10,000 members at the collieries on September 6. It blamed the Coal Board for failing to establish machinery to conduct negotiations with the union about wages and conditions. The board’s reply says the question of representation is an inter-union matter between the clerical workers and the mineworkers’ unions. The board was standing by its statutory obligations. Lord Hyndley, chairman of the National Coal Board, said • two considerations of national importance overshadowed all else —the men must honour the agreement negotiated by their chosen representatives, and the nationalised coal industry must get the nation's coal. “We want the men not only to end the stoppage,” he said, “but also to widen the basis of their loyalty to their union, the nationalised industry and the country we all serve.” An official of the Coal Board in the north-east region said: “If the men beat the union in this strike our powers will be lost. The men will always have power to refuse us anything.” The official made it plain that the board regards the strike as a test of its powers to ask the men to work bigger stints—increased lengths of coal face—to speed coal production. Delegates to the conference of the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers deplored the action of a minority within the mining industry in continuing practices contrary to the five-day week agreement. It was stated that dismissal would be used to deal with habitual absenteeism in the Lancashire coalfields. Four miners were dismissed at a pit in Burnley on Friday. The general secretary of the area (Mr E. Hall) said those dismissed would find it difficult to secure re-engagement at another pit, and if they did they would be at the bottom of the ladder for grading up. Reuters says the TUC conference, opening tomorrow, will debate a declaration from the TUC General Council on “Miners and the Nation.” The declaration, while approving steps taken to improve mining pay and conditions, says the nation cannot wait for the full benefits from nation-

alisation to increase production and urges the Coal Board and miners to secure an immediate expansion of output. One of the miners’ leaders said the National Union of Mineworkers had agreed to the introduction of the General Council declaration, solely to broaden the basis of discussion on the imperative need for more coal output. “This does not commit us to postponing our claims to better conditions until the output has gone up. “We shall go ahead with our application for a substantial increase in minimum wages and full implementation of the miners’ charter.” Delegates from the Miners’ Union to the conference passed a resolution urging all members to resume work in the interest of the country. The resolution added: “This type of action is extremely dangerous to the nation’s economy.”