More Say For Miners

Northern Advocate, 13 August 1948, Page 6

More Say For Miners

WELLINGTON, Fri. (Sp.L The Minister of Mines (Mr 'McLagan) is arranging a scheme of cooperative control of state coal mines by giving the miners more say in the management of the industry. This was stated in the House of Representatives today by Mr A. E. Armstrong (G—Napier). “We don’t believe in putting the miners on an hourly rate,” said Mr Armstrong. “We are going to get the best out of them. “This can be obtained by more cooperative effort and more understanding of the men who do the job.” “BITTER EXPERIENCE” The miners, ne«continued, had had bitter experience of private ownership working the mines purely for profit, ihe owner being more concerned with conditions for breeding racehorses than the living conditions of the miners and their families. “The Minister is working out a cooperative scheme,” said the speaker,

“whereby workers in mines will, as nearly as possible, own and control the industry they work in. “EXPERT KNOWLEDGE”

“He is in consultat.ton with mine workers’ representatives along those lines.

"We know we cannot do the job just as another state department, and we are going to utilise the expert knowledge of the miners.”