THE STRIKE AT WAIHI.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17429, 26 March 1920, Page 4

THE STRIKE AT WAIHI.

SERIOUS EFFECTS FEARED. RUIN 'THREATENS TOWN. BOROUGH COUNCILS PLIGHT. NO FUNDS TO CONTINUE WORK. [BY. TELEGRAPH.—OWN CO-RESPONDENT.] WAIHI, Thursday. No move has been made by the parties to the dispute with the object of settling the strike. The ■ officers of the Miners' Union now state that in the event of a conference being arranged they will not be prepared to accept a minimum -wage of less than 16s 8d per day for battery and other wages men, while the mine owners' representatives show no inclination to offer an advance on the minimum of 12b 3d, which they offered during the conference' with the union delegates, and had been paying for some little time prior to the men coming out on strike. They hold that if any variation is made it will have to be through the Arbitration Court, to »which tribunal the men are disinclined to appeal. Following on the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday, when a resolution invoking Government intervention in the strike was carried, the Waihi Borough Council met last night to discuss the position created by the strike and the finances of the borough.

Dealing "first with the strike, the following resolutions were carried, and were forwarded to the Prime Minister by the town clerk this morning.—

1. " That this council views with the gravest alarm the certainty that unless speedy action is taken to end this deplorable strike, disaster and ruin -will fall upon the whole town. Therefore we strongly urge the Government to take immediate steps to bring about an amicable settlement." 2. "That this council is further of ■ the opinion that the miners of Waihi are entitled to the same rate of pay as is paid in other parts of the Dominion for similar services." Speaking to the second part of the resolution bearing on wages, the Mayor, Mr. D. Donaldson, said he felt justified in advocating an increase, as it had been shown that men in other Darts of the Dominion were being paid at higher rates for similar work than the minimum 61 12s 3d offered by the mine owners. As to the merits of the dispute in any other respect, or on the labour question and conditions generally, he had nothing to say. Understanding Between Unions. Mr. H. A. Pipe, a member of the executive of the Miners' Union, stated that, while it would have been possible some little time back for the mine owner* and the union to have come to an understanding on the basis of a minimum of 14s daily, now the time for a settlement on that basis had passed,- and the union officials would not now accept an agreement with a lower minimum than 16s 8d per day. Further than this there could be no adjustment of the dispute until any revised terms which might be offered by the owners were accepted by both unions concerned in the strike, the engineers' and the 'Miners' Union representatives having reached an understanding that the members of the one would, not resume work until the grievances of the other had been adjusted. The council then proceeded to discuss the borough financial position and the steps necessary to meet the altered conditions. The Mayor said that since the estimates of receipts and expenditure for the current year, based on the figures of the preceding 12 months, had been drawn up, it had been found that owing to the increased cost of living, which necessitated increased expenditure in wages, etc, the disbursements had exceeded the estimate by over £1000, while owing to reduced gold output by one of the mines the income had decreased by a corresponding sum. 'Need for Retrenchment. This meant a difference of upwards of £2000, and as the bank overdraft was now close up to the limit of £6000 fixed by the National Bank, and the stoppage of the mining industry had cut off about 90 per cent of the borough's revenue, the position had reached a grave and acute stage. No other course appeared to be open but to follow on the lines of the scheme of retrenchment found necessary on the occasion of the strike of 1912. when the services of many of the borough workers had to be dispensed with and expenditure in other directions was curtailed. "Mr. J. Cochrarfe and others suggested that the questions of dismissing workers should be held over for a week, in the hope that there might be some indication of a settlement of the trouble in the interim. Brief Respite for Employees. After considerable discussion it was decided to formulate the scheme of retrenchment at once and to delay the bringing of it into operation for a few days. The council then went into committee to discuss the details, and although no information as to its deliberations is available it is understood that the scheme prepared will, if circumstances necessitate its being given effect to, involve an even greater reduction of workers than was the case in 1912. In the vicinity of 40 men are likely to be dismissed shortly unless the strike is settled, and practically all repair and maintenance work about the town will be suspended, while essential services will be curtailed and worked with reduced staffs.

Business People Uneasy. The business people of Waihi are beginning to show uneasiness, and some of the firms are talking of reducing their staffs to a minimum at an early date, unless there are signs of the trouble being brought to an end. They recognise that a prolongation of the dispute will involve them in even more serious loss than was the case during the disastrous strike of 1912, unless the credit system is entirely suspended. While hesitating to adopt this course they feel that it will have to be observed at no distant date if they are to cbntinuo in business.

Already there has been a marked falling off of trade in all lines, apart from the actual necessities of life.