HANGING UP A CONTRACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14150, 27 August 1909, Page 6

HANGING UP A CONTRACT.

THE OTIRA TROUBLE.

OUTSIDE WORK AFFECTED.

TWO HUNDRED UNEMPLOYED.

[BY TELEGRAM. CORRESPONDENT.]

Christchtjrch, Thursday. With reference to the labour trouble at the Otira end of the Arthur's Pass tunnel, the special correspondent of the Christchurch Frees at Otira says that the absence of Mr. Murdoch McLean is looked upon as a misfortune, as his managing staff can offer nothing but the terms which have been already refused by the union.

The prospects of a speedy settlement of the dispute are none too bright. The men are determined not to yield, and are assured of financial assistance from the unions. At the same time there is a desire to effect a settlement if possible, and some pin their faith to the offices of Mr. Halley, Conciliation Commissioner.

The men are still occupying Mr. McLean's huts, in spite of notices to quit. This, however, is not at all a burning point. No stops are being taken by the management to get the men out of the huts, and it is improbable- that anything will be done until after all efforts to settle the dispute have failed. In the meantime the men are cheerfully ignoring the notice to quit, and they aro not being reminded that they are illegally on the premises.

At the commencement of the trouble i about 120 men were affected, but now the number has grown to nearly 200. Withi out the tunnel work it naturally follows, says the correspondent of the Lyttclton Times, that the outside work gets- ahead of that inside, until the outside men work themselves out of a job. This is the inevitable effect of the deadlock. Tho blacksmiths have got all the drills in order, all trucks are repaired, new ironwork has been prepared; all this ironwork has been through tho fitting shop, and has been turned, screwed, or drilled, as required, so that in each of these departments considerable reductions have boon found necessary. Tho gang employed on shingle washing have completely filled all the bins, and as concreting is stopped in the tunnel no shinglo can be used, with the exception of what is used in the manufacture of blocks. The gang of labourers employed in general work have nothing to do now, so that their services also have had to be dispensed with. In the power and compressor houses two mou can now do what six men were previously doing. Tue carpenters' staff has been reduced by half, and so on, until the works are nearly at a standstill, and unless some settlement is speedily arrived at it eeems as though the works must stop for a while, simply because all outside work will be far ahead of requirements.

Local tradesmen are feeling the pinch already, and trade lias dropped 25 per cent. The men are on strike pay, which amounts to £1 per man per -reek for single men and 35s per week for married men but board costs £1, so that a (single man 'has nothing left to clothe himself or pun base other little necessaries. Yet the hotels are doing good business. MR. McLEAN'S ATTITUDE. CARELESSNESS WITH THE LAMPS. [BY TELEGRAPH.PRESS ASSOCIATION".] CimiSTciiUßCii, Thursday. Interviewed regarding the Otira trouble to-day Mr. Murdoch McLean said : — The men claim that under the Public Contracts Act we are committing a breach of the award, and a breach of our contract. They claim that the Recfton mining award should be a guide to us in the wages we pay. If we had taken the award as our guide our men would be paid something like 10 per cent, less than we are now paying them. We claim, however, that the Reefton Miners' Union award in no way had any relation to the work we were undertaking. It is a different proposition altogether, and as far as our work is concerned we are not in any way dependent on the miners for its execution. Tunnelling is a special work and requires special men and special experience to carry it out, and a miner does not possess that experience. This matter was full threshed out by the Arbitration Court last November, when the Court simply embodied in its award the third, fourth, and fifth sections of the Public Contracts Act, and made provision for ' wet places,' leaving us free to make agreements between ourselves and the individual workmen.

"In their manifesto the Miners' Union lays special stress on section 47 of the Track' Act in reference to our requiring the men to protect our property in the shape of lamps. ' That section says that the provisions of the Act shall not apply where the employer or his agent supplies or contracts to supply any worker with any medicine and medical attendance or any fuel, material, tools, appliances or implements to be by such worker employed in his trade, labour, or occupation.

" The manifesto also lays special stress on the fact, or presumed fact, that we have to light the tunnel at the working faces and any man-holo by electricity. Our specification distinctly states that where practicable Ave must light the tunnel by electricity. If they, or anyone in New Zealand, can propound a scheme to make it practicable to light working faces with electric lamps, we are prepared to grant them a very large bonus.

"In asking the men to merely protect our property, giving each a receipt for a lamp when he takes charge of it, and requiring him to return it when finished with, seems to us a very reasonable proposition, in view of the fact that the men were so careless of the lamps that they were being left about in the drives, in many cases thrown into the dump trucks, and thrown over the dump, and in other cases left in the working faces and damaged by the explosions. We do not ask the men to pay for their lamps, but it is specially provided by the Truck Act that a contractor can keep from the wages of the men moneys for appliances and tools.

" In regard to our requiring them to work eight-hour shifts on Saturday and Monday, we merely insist, that we should pay the men only for the hours they work. If they work seven hours on Saturday and seven hours on Monday, we claim that we should only pay for those hours. In view of the very high wages wo are paying the men, notwithstanding that in the locality wages are very much lower, we think it is only a reasonable request and a reasonable demand that the men should not be paid for the work they don't do. "It is claimed by the union that we should submit the matter in dispute to the Conciliation Commissioner. That seems to u 1 ? absurd in view of the fact that there is an award in existence, and that if we have committed any breach of it they have their legal remedy. Instead of that, they have elected to strike, and have refused to go to work, by doing which they have themselves committed a breach of the award, and now cannot claim any of the benefits that may be attached to the conditions of the award. " Some 60 men working at the Canterbury end have elected to accept our conditions in reference to the lamps, and are still working. We believe that the trouble at the Otira end is mainly being caused by a few union men and agitators, and that if a free vote had been taken of the men on the works there would have been no trouble."