TRADES AND LABOUR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11182, 3 August 1898, Page 2

TRADES AND LABOUR.

Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright.

' •■ London; August 1. The coal owners of South Wales have definitely refused to concede the miners' demands, beyond a renewal of the old sliding scale and an immediate advance of 5 per cent, in their wages.

Thel manager of the Kaitangata Railway j and Coal Company, on being seen with refer- ; ence to the advertisement in yestsrday morning's issue of this paper, in which coal miners were requested to keep away from Kaitangata and Allandale stated to our vepresentative that he was not aware why such a notice should have been inserted with jegard to his mine. Everything, he says, is going on as before, with the exception that, the change of proprietary having taken place on I he Ist J inst., all hands were discharged by the old company, and no doubt in a few (lays all will j be re-engaged. . ■ ; - •

At the Allandale coal mine there has been ' adifference of opinion between the miners and the Allandale Coal Company as to the working hours. The., company holds that the eight-hours' day, Miich the Court of Arbitration decided should bo worked by the miners underground, consists of eight hours at the face, while the miners contend iihat the ole cision means, that the day consists of eight hours from the mouth of the drive to the mouth of the drive, which would practically reduce the working day_ to six and n-haif hours, the difference being represented by, time lost in going to tho face, lime lost in returning from the face to the mouth of the drive, and the dinner half-hour in the- mine. We understand that the company posted a notice a week or so ago that those men who are on shift wages should work eight hours, or in the event of their not doing so, should be paid only for the hours of labour th<3y did j work. A good deal of work in mining, it i may be explained, is done by skip—which is j piece work, —and even in that case there is a loss. of time by the company through the truckers on the surface being kept idle in waiting for the coal from the pit. We believe there is no ground of complaint, other than , that mentioned, at the Allandale ,nine. j