MINERS AT VARIANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIVIII, Issue 17684, 20 January 1921, Page 6

MINERS AT VARIANCE.

TROUBLE AT KAITANGATA. WORK PARTIALLY SUSPENDED. SEQUEL TO BLACKBALL DISPUTE[BT TELEGRAPH. OWN CORRESPONDENT.] DUNEDIN. "Wednesday. Trouble has occurred at the Kaitangata mine. The position is somewhat obscure, but one thin? is certain and that is that the miners are not united in regard to future action. A stop-work meeting was held at the mine on Monday morning at 7 o'clock to consider the position at Blackball. It lasted until 8.30 a.m. Some of the men refused to attend the meeting at Kaitangata and went to work as usual and the meeting was thereupon adjourned. Yesterday morning the same position arose and the meeting was further adjourned until thiß morning. There is no change in the position to-day and the stop-work meeting was adjourned for the third time on, account of some members of the union not attending but going to work instead. The union was to hold stop-work meetings at 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. to-day to endeavour to secure the co-operation of the men on these shifts. The mine is idle to-day, with the exception of those men who elected to go to work. The loss in wages is already a serious matter, aa the four days' loss oi work represents about £2000. The attitude taken by the company on Monday morning was to decline to hand their lamps over to liie men who were late. It is also stated that the union on Monday moruing asked that the company should call out the men who had gone down the mine, so that they would be forced to attend the stop-work meeting and that the company declined to do anything of the sort. The company has now posted a notice that the mines will be open for work to-morrow, and that any men absenting themselves without any reason except sickness will be deemed to have left *.he company's employ.