MINERS AND MANPOWER

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24302, 17 June 1942, Page 2

MINERS AND MANPOWER

The Minister of Mines has had poor support on the West Coast for the case he made for releasing 300 young miners from the armed forces to meet the need for more manpower in the industry. On the very day he made his statement two State mines were idle because a few men refused to wait while bus transport was provided to carry them to their work. Public opinion will not tolerate the idea of young miners being exempted from military service when such things happen, and the Government looks idly on. It is true the Minister said production on the West Coast was well up, that shipping was the difficulty, and that the waterside workers and the Railway Department would work at week-ends and work the clock round if necessary to clear the coal that was available. If the labour force in the area is sufficient to provide coal in such abundance, it should be possible to transfer some men to other districts where the situation is not so good. Workers in other industries are called upon to go where the need for their services is urgent. The Government has powers to order these things and to deal with absenteeism if it chooses to use them. The miners, or some sections of the miners, continue to defy the Government, to flout public opinion, and to ignore the war emergency the whole country faces by staying away from work on the most trivial pretexts. It is a poor reward for families which have seen their young men answer the call to service, for those young men whose careers have been interrupted, and for employers with depleted staffs, to see such things happening unchecked and unpunished in a favoured occupation.