BRITISH MINES CRISIS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14929, 29 February 1912, Page 4

BRITISH MINES CRISIS.

THE DEMANDS OF THE MEN.

REVIEW OF THE DISTRICTS.

THE MIDLANDS MEN FOR PEACE.

The London Daily Telegraph on January 13 published the following statement regarding the demands and views of the various mining districts:—

Generally speaking, the feeling in the Midland Counties is on the side of peace, though actually many of tho men— precise proportion remailns to be seen— have unquestionably voted for a strike. As a matter of fact, there is very little unrest or agitation in this important area, and the notion of the men has been die tated by a spirit of loyalty to their fellowworkers in other coalfields.

Practically, all real grounds of discontent have been removed in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire also by the granting of minimum rates for colliers working in. abnormal places. This represents a great advance in the conditions of employment, and has been welcomed in that light by the men. When a miner is working under normal conditions ho can earn a wage with which he is fairly content, and it is the "abnormal places" question which is the root cause of much of the present agitation. In the circumstances, therefore, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire would probably bo satisfied with a few small adjustments which should present no great difficulties. In Staffordshire, where a minimum of 7s per day for coal-getters is asked for, the trouble would probably be settled if an agreement could bo reached as to the wages of men when working under abnormal conditions. At any rate, this is tho chief bone of contention. Position in the North. Northumberland miners desire a 2i per cent, advance, bringing the minimum up to 30 per cent, above the 1879 basis, which regulates wages in the coalfield. The men have shown themselves quite ready to support the agitation for a minimum wage, but a distinct rift in tho lute has been caused by the refusal of the federation to permit the three-shift system to figure in the ballot. This system is held to bo in practice destructive of family life, as members of one household are sometimes employed on all three shifts, and there is ■ good reason to believe that an alteration of existing conditions in this respect would ' remove a grievance about which the men feel very deeply. Anyhow, they have resented the exclusion of the question from the ballot so much as to lead a number of them either to vote against a strike or to abstain altogether from taking part in the ballot as a protest. Dissatisfaction on the sanio score also prevails in Durham. A ballot taken in that county not long since revealed a large majority in favour of the abolition of the three-shift system, and the men rather resent the fact that the question is not to be fought out in connection with the present agitation. There is very little unrest in the Lancashire coalfield, where, thanks to the good relations between employers and workmen, it has been found possible to adjust differences which have arisen from time to time without much friction. Local arrangements are in force jit the present time, under which workers in abnormal places are paid 7s 6d or more per day, and these appear to give full satisfaction. , But there is a desire that the system of payment for work under difficult conditions should be placed on a more certain basis. Given that, the possibilities of a compromise are distinctly hopeful. _In the meantime Lancashire seeks a minimum of 7s a day. South Wales. The demand put forward in South Wales has, broadly speaking, been for a guaranteed wage of 8s per day. Up to within the last few days the attitude of the men's leaders has been that a settlement of the abnormal places difficulty would not satisfy them, but the minimum must be guaranteed, whether men are working under normal or abn >rmal conditions. If proposals such as these were seriously persisted in, it is clear there could be no possibility of averting a stoppage in the South Wales area. But happily there is some hope that more moderate ideas may replace those which have hitherto animated officials of the federation. Position of the Masters. How determined are the coalowners to resist the general minimum wage claim for every workman, irrespective of age or capacity, is demonstrated by a speech made by Mr. D. A. Thomas, managingdirector of tho Cambrian Collieries Combine, and formerly Liberal M.P. for Cardiff, who may be expected to be the outstanding figure of the ensuing struggle. Mr. Thomas, speaking at Cardiff, referred to the decline of half a million tons in the coal exports from Cardiff during the past four years, and said he believed not only the coalowners but the public throughout South Wales were weary of the way in which, notwithstanding all their energy and enterprise, the trade of the district was being driven away, and the volume of coal exports from the United States and Germany increased by the incompetence and folly of the leaders of the workmen of South Wales. While the coalowners were entering this struggle with the greatest reluctance, the position of himself and his colleagues might be summed up in this phrase, "We don't want to fight,, but by jingo if we do." There was hardly a month that the subject of non-unionism did not crop up, and not only the companies, but the public, had to suffer because half a dozen men would not join the Miners' Federation. He believed in the principle of collective bargaining, but he would like the miners to elect as their leaders men who were prepared to accept the responsibility of their position. The present was not a question of wages, but of morality. It was the employers' defence—and it might be their line of attack—that once a bargain had been entered into it ought to be kept. He predicted that if a settlement was arrived at without a struggle, it would be upon the lines of improved payment to the men working under abnormal conditions, and the other compromise would bo the levelling up of the lower-paid wage men. This had been suggested by himself several times. He spoke for himself, but in the councilroom he would continue to raise the still, small voice of reason in the direction of insisting upon some evidence that the men realised the sanctity of a bargain when it was once entered into, and also that the workmen might rely upon the fact that the 'coalowners would never agree to the minimum wage as they put it forward, and never would consent to any arrangement under which the incentive or stimulus of the collier working in a phice where ho could not be supervised was to be removed. The Minimum Wage. It is understood that the men define tho meaning of the minimum wage as follows — (1) The descending of the pit and the remaining at the coal face to do a day's work shall establish the right of a workman to receive the average wage of the district. (2) A committee, consisting of an equal number of representatives, chosen by the owner and the workmen, shall, be appointed in every district to consider and determine any disputes as to wages and working places. (3) The only exemptions from the payment of tho average wage of a district shall be in the case of workmen who, by reason of age or physical infirmity, are unable to do a full day's work. Tho coalowners in many parts, however, assert that the way out of the difficulty h not by way of the minimum wage, but by an adequate _ scheme to deal with the hardship complained of by tho men, and admitted by the employers— in abnormal places. "Let tho men," say the colliery proprietors, "join with tie in devising a . method to deal with -these exceptions."