COAL STRIKES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 29 August 1945, Page 5

COAL STRIKES

SERIOUS EFFECT ON INDUSTRY AUSTRALIAN MINES IDLE Sydney, Aug. 28. While a national convention of miners is meeting in Sydney to "set a course for a new deal for the coal fields,” strikes at New South Wales collieries are seriously affecting Austrial industry. An appeal on Friday by the general secretary of the Miners’ Federation, Mr G. W. Grant, to the miners throughout Australia for an all-out production drive to bring coal stocks back to normal was ignored by 3000 miners who were idle at nine pits yesterday. The mines idle included some of Australia’s biggest, and 10,000 tons of badlyneeded coal was lost. Last week, the loss was 50,000 tons. Inter-State leaders of the Miners’ Federation are gravely perturbed at the stoppages, which, as the Minister of Supply. Senator Ashley, put it, have resulted in Australia being held to ransom. In New South Wales, railway services have already ben reduced, and severe rationing is likely in all essential industries. Because of shortages of coal from New South Wales, supplies to industrial plants in Victoria have been cut to approximately onethird of normal requirements. Some industries have not operated for a f rtnight, and others have such low coal stocks that their closing is imminent. NATIONALISATION DISCUSSED At the miners’ convention (which was held in camera), nationalisation of the mines was discussed. The convention also discussed a proposal that the Federal Government be asked to buy coal on contract from the colliery proprietors for the next five years at a price sufficient to enable the owners to guarantee continuity of employment to the miners. To the man in the street, some of the miners’ strikes have seemed unreasonable, to say the least, but on the northern fields last week there was something new in stoppages. At the Stockrington Colliery, pit-top workers who are day wage meji, went home after the miners had gone below. They threw the mine idle in protest against “unjustifiable strikes” by contract men and their disregard of day-wage men, who have no opportunity to make up pay lost in strikes. Diversification of industry o n the coalfields is planned by the Commonwealth under its decentralisation policy and it will be deliberately pursued to introduce into the coalfields interests other than those of mining. The Prime Minister, Mr Chifley, said that, with only one avenue offering for employment, a man either had to enter the mining industry and devote the rest of his life to mining, or leave the community; yet there are men who because of their physical condition, or for other reasons, were unable to undertake mining. Similarly, in such communities there was no demand for female labour. anJ girls had to leave their homes, to get work.