THE HUNTLY DISPUTE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 13969, 27 January 1909, Page 8

THE HUNTLY DISPUTE.

SATISFACTORY SETTLEMENT.

WORK TO BE RESUMED.

COMPANY'S OFFER ACCEPTED.

MINISTER. AS MEDIATOR.

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

." Htt.vti.y, Tuesday. Thk Huntly mining trouble was happily settled to-day by the men's acceptance of the terms arrived at by the conference of directors of the Taupiri Company on Monday. The signs were distinctly hopeful on Monday night after the conference between the union, the Minister for Lands, and Mr. Baume, at Huntly, that a settlement would be brought about Such, proved to be the case. To-day the conference met again at nine o'clock, and remained sitting for about two hours. Then loud cheers were ;heard from the interior of the Volunteer Hall, whore the conference was taking place, and a moment afterwards the men streamed forth.

It was soon ascertained that a settlement had been arrived at, and the air of gloom that had hung ovor the little township for the last few days was replaced by one of jollity. The kindly offices of the' Minister for Mines as mediator were generally extolled, and Mr.' F. E. Baume, M.P., counsel for the Minors' Union, came in for his share of praise. But there is no doubt that the men themselves and the union officials showed a wise spirit of moderation in discussing the offer of the company. ' •

The terms of settlement, which axe appended, were " not acceptable to all the men. It was at- first intended to take a ballot; but the men objected to this, and there was a show of hands on the resolu--tion put before the meeting. It was carried by 170 to 83. Tho resolution was: — That the Waikato Miners' Union accept the terms recommended by the Minister for Mines, at the request of the directors of the Taupiri Coal Company, as an honourable settlement of the union's differences with the company, and that the . president and secretary of the union be authorised to sign the document con- ; taining the said term's, on behalf of the union. ' - • :"■■ "

The - resolution was signed by James Fulton (president) and R. Manning (secretary), and was witnessed by the Hon. R. McKenzie, Minister for Mines.

: The following resolution, was passed by the dirb>:tOiß on Monday: "Resolved that the Hon. R. McKeiizie be confidentially informed that the directors i.re, without prejudice, prepared 'to agree to the following , proposals ,13 terms of setCeme-nt in the dispute between the company and the Waikato Coalmiaers' Union: —

"1. That work at the company's mines be resumed forthwith, and that the four officials, Messrs.'-Ralph Heron, Frank Duncan, J. Whorskey, and J Hamilton, continue to fill their position* as heretofore ; (2) that the company give an assurance that if it be proved to the satisfaction ot the directors that any of the said four officials acts in any way in an arbitrary or revengeful manner towards the >&*inkers, ■he shidl be dismissed ; (31, that "any official of the company who is a inembo>" of the union shall immediately withdraw from membership in the union, and in future no officials of the company shall obtain membership of the Waikato Coalminers 3 Union; ; (4) that, providing above terms be agreed -to by the union, ten days'"; wages be paid to the company's employees according to the rates paid by the" arbitration award, plus 5 per cent." - This was signed by Mr. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the Taupiri Coal Company, and .witnessed by the Hon. R. McKonzie, Minister for Mines.

. ; The Minister; for Mines was naturally gratified at the success that had attended his efforts as mediator, but ho did notthink there was any necessity to say much about the matter now' it was settled. "My. trip to the Woikato has been a very pleasant one," he remarked to a Herald representative, "and I am quite satisfied with the success of my mission." - Mr. .McKenzie then congratulated the chairman (Mr. Fulton) and the secretary (Mr.\Manning), of the Miners' Union, on their able handling of a difficult subject, and spoke eulogistically of the miners for their excellent conduct during a trying period..''' _, , ; / .■" ''.The sergeant of police here has a good word for U6," remarked Mr. Fulton.

-" And there is no doubt you deserve it," rejoined the Minister. v The secretary (Mr. Manning) said that the terms agreed to were not entirely satisfactory to the union; but it was recognised that both parties were placed in a painful position, and the dictates of common sense ■ pointed to the agreement as- a reasonable solution of the difficulty. Mr. F. E. Baume, counsel for the Miners' Union, 'who left for Auckland immediately after the conference, was escorted to the station by a number of miners, who sang "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" as the train moved c". The Minister for Mines was accorded a specially enthusiastic send off- when he boarded the Main Trunk ■; train for Wellington a little later in the day; being cheered again and again.

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGES.

THE MINISTER AND THE COMPANY.

; : Yesterday morning tho chairman of the -Taupiri Coal Company (Mr. E. W. Alison) received' the following telegram from the Minister-" A full meeting of the members, of 'the ■'" union was held this morning. A motion in favour of the acceptance of the whole of 'the terms from the directors of the company was carried by very large majority. The men have agreed to" return to work in the morning. With regard to the question of pay, I told them that I understood the directors would arrange- to settle arrears referred to in the proposals tomorrow. Another question raised was as to the three deputies who went with the men being allowed to retain their position. I stated in reply that I had no doubt the directors would agree to this. Mr. Baume has just left for Auckland. lam glad to say feeling amongst the men appeals to be very good. I go on to Wellington by the .1.20 train."

In reply, Mr. Alison wired to Mr. McKenzio: "Pleased to receive your wire, intimating ■ that union, by a Very large majority, accepted the company's terms of settlement of the Huntly trouble. Have not received any official intimation from the union. Hope to resume work tomorrow morning. Have given instructions to prepare wages sheet forthwith on term a arranged; will pay as coon as available. Glad to learn good feeling exists among the men. Directors congratulate you on having influenced the union to accept company's terms." ' .Subsequent to the company's telegram to the ; Minister being despatched, a telegram was received from the union officially notifying its acceptance of the company's terms.. ..,,

THE COMPANY'S TERMS.

EXPLANATION BY MR. ALISON.

Asked ' yesterday ; ; for his; views on the terms of settlement, Mr. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the company, said the directors and shareholders, and employers generally throughout the Dominion, had every reason to be satisfied with the results achieved. : ''/

" The principal question at issue." he eaid, "was that affecting the' four officials who had stood so loyally by the company. The "demand' of the union for their removal was one which the directors considered to '"J* altogether. unreasonable and indefensible, and one which we could not under

any circumstances agree to. We therefore determined, at whatever cost, to stick loyally by theso men, unci to defend the principle that in cooes where employees cany out 'the' instructions of the management, and perform their duties in an honest and loyal way, their 'employers should eland by them, and not at the. 'dictation of a union or any body of employees dismiss them from "their employment. This question has now happily been settled, and I trust that the experience will not arise again in industrial circles in New Zealand. There is no doubt that this was an endeavour on the part of : the Minors' Federation of New Zealand to assert its power, so that in future mineowners should be subordinate to its dictation in the event of any of it** members or any workers in any mine performing duties" contrary to the expressed desire of the federation. While in the present case the federation ha« not succeeded in its aim. it may make another attempt in Lite future, and" it. therefore- behoves the employers of New Zo&land to alto federate, and thus ■' place themselves in a. position to be able to frustrate any such movement., A fund might be established, whereby employers who have to bear the brunt of any such, light can bo financially assisted, and thus be enabled to resist any unreasonable encroachment upon the clearly established and indisputable rights of employers. •■-■-■ The employers of New Zealand at the present time are harassed by extreme labour legislation, and if in addition to this unions are to bo allowed to act in an. arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive manner, how is ,' itpossible for our industries to be successfill? This' aggressive attitude on the part of unions must, be checked, and checked with a strong hand, as otherwise capital will be driven out of the country. Personally, as one who is connected with a number of industries in Auckland, I have made up my mind not.to invent or to assist in promoting any other industrial undertakings so long, at any rate, as present labour conditions exist, and unions maintain their aggressive attitude. The industries of New Zealand can nevermake any headway if employers are unduly harassed and laws which undoubtedly interfere with the liberties and rights of the people must assuredly be regarded as nothing else than laws of -retrogression." Speaking with reference to the second condition of the agreement. Mr. Alison said .this required no elaboration on his part. As regards the n,ext one, he said there could bo no two opinions about this, as it was absolutely impossible that any business could be run satisfactorily with its officials members of the union as well as the men. " The directors," he continued, "were unaware that any of their officials were members of the Miners' Union until this trouble arose, and they therefore stipulated in their terms of sottlement that any official who was a member of the union should immediately withdraw from membership, and that no official should be allowed to join the union in future. If officials of a company are to be members of a workers' union, they cannot possibly fulfil their duties to the'satisfaction of their employers. Not only does this question affect the Taupiri Company, but also every other industry in New Zealand, and I think it would be well if employers, collectively, took a definite stand on the subject. *" t Asked why the company was paying the men 10 days' wage's, according to the rates fixed by the arbitration award, plus 5 per cent., Mr. Alison stated that the men claimed that they were entitled to be paid full wages during the whole of the time that they had been idle, viz., from the 4th inst." until yesterday. They contended that the company, in insisting that the underground 'workers,- before resuming work on the 4th, should undergo a medical examination, had actually" created a lockout, and therefore was liable to pay them wages for ; the time which they had been out. The directors, after going into the.matter fully, and considering various legal opinions, had decided to pay the men 10 days' wages, as covering the "period between January 4, the. date on which the men would have resumed work in ordinary' circumstances, and the date, upon which the Government Insurance Department agreed to undertake the pneumoconiosis risk with, out medical examination. ■ As to the additional 5 per cent., the company had been paying the men this for the past •eight months, and had decided to make no deduction ■in the present instance. . ■* In conclusion, Mr. Alison stated that the application by the company to hare the matter referred to the Council of Conciliation, as. provided for under the amending Act of last - session, would be withdrawn."'

EMPLOYERS' DEFENCE FUND.

TESTIMONIAL TO LOYAL

EMPLOYEES.

As an outcome of the trouble at Huntly, the New Zealand Employers' Federation has had under consideration the establishment of a defence fund for the protection of any of its members against occasions such as that which has recently caused such heavy loss. In this connection the Auckland branch of the Employers' Federation has hold a special meeting, and the following ; resolution was unanimously adopted: — '~-•'/ ... that while sympathy and verbal support to employers suffering from strikes are desirable enough, some tangible help is required, and this association pledges itself to assist in establishing, in the Dominion, , a central defence fund, from which payments shall bo made through the New Zealand Employers' Federation, in order to partially make good '.lodges arising out of decreased profit, damage to_ property, costs of defending or sustaining any action in Court, recognition . of men's loyalty to employers, or any other kindred purposes. .

The matter of details of the scheme for submission to the Federation ' Advisory Board was left in the, hands of the executive, with power to act. The president (Mr. D. Goldie) rema.rked that it was gratifying to the association to note that telegraphed responses from kindred associations on this subject were highly satisfactory, and unanimously in favour of the establishment of some such scheme.

The meeting expressed high appreciation of the loyalty manifested by the four employees of the Taupiri Company, who faithfully continued to discharge their duty to their employers, notwithstanding the protest of the union, and it was decided that _ this appreciation should take some tangible for!li, a resolution being carried to establish a fund for the purpose. Upwards of £40 was subscribed in the room. The opinion was expressed that there would Ik? no difficulty in obtaining at least £50 for each of the four men.

SATISFACTION AT WAIHI.

[BY telegraph.— correspondent.]

W.um, Tuesday. The announcement that the Huntly "coil miners are to resume work is hailed with general satisfaction at Wat hi, as it means that the Waihi Gold Mining Company's pumps will resume the work of lifting the water from the 1000 ft level, and that the Grand Junction Company will before long bo in a position to open up the mine fit No. 5 level, where decided improvements are looked for.