WAIHI CONTRACT SYSTEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14243, 18 June 1908, Page 5

WAIHI CONTRACT SYSTEM

«. i WHAT A STRIKE MEANS. r MANAGER'S PLAIN ADVICE. t (Fsom Ous Own Coeeespondest.) fl AUCKLAND, June 17. t Tho trouble over the contract sj'stcm at '■ the Waihi mines has now reached an ?, interesting stage, the mine owners having ( declined tho requests of the men, for the a institution of the co-operative contract, t system; and tho union, has now to con- t sider the position brought about by the c meeting on Saturday night. Some rumours I that tho men might go out on strike I having. been circulated, but this is not considered probablo, for numerous reasons, the first one being that only a oompara- s lively small section of the great body of s men working at the mines is ihtorestcd 1 in the contract system, and 1 a 6trike in t one part of the raino might throw the t whole system out of gear and render many 1 hundreds of other men idle through no fault of their own." Moreover, it is pointed t out, a big section of tho workers oppose 1 the demand made. The Waihi Company ' pays its workers 8s 6d a day, while the .' contractors aro paying 10s and lis per day, so that in the case of a strike, which 1 would require to extend bevond the con- 1 tractors' men to be really a strike, ; workers at 8s 6d per day would be asked ■ io come out of work and inflict hardship on hundreds of women and children in older to secure larger payment for a comparatively small body of men already re- < cfiiving 10s to lis per day. Mr H. P. Barry (general superintendent) put (.he position very clearly in speaking of what a strike (if it really was being ■ brought about) would mean to Waihi. He said if the trouble was going to culminate in a strike then ho wanted the men to understand the position, and not complain afterwards that tho terrible trouble of a strike had liecn forced upon them. A strike should not be possible unless the majority of the members of the union were in favour of it and actually voted lor it; but if tho majority would not go to the trouble of recording their voles then they had only themselves to blame if the result of the poll was against their wishes. "If tho union really calls a strike," Mr Barry went on to say, "wo will not endeavour to carry on short-handed. When the wages men go out we shall simply assume that, the majority wish to discontinue at the mine, for any attempt to continue in a disorganised fashion is useless. When the available ore at tlio batteries becomes finished wc shall closo them down, and, of course, the workers there must join the ranks of the unemployed. This also applies to all the mechanics at Waihi and Waikcno, engaged in constructive works, for it must bo obvious that while we we getting no bullion the means to provide for the monthly pay-sheet will not be forthcoming. The timber-getters in the bush will be affected. The whole community must be affected by a ttrilcc. Even the borough must feel it for without the returns from tho companies gold duty must cease as a source of reveu.ic. It is common public knowledge -hut the borough is already leaning heavily on tho bank, which leaves it with only limited means to carry on during a period cf stress, Therefore in a few weeks of strike the borough employees would also have to . join the > unemployed. Much as wo would rogroi a strike from the companies' point of view, it is really so much more important to the wage-earners and inhabitants of tlio town that it should be avoided. I'or the company it would mean -.probably the suspension of dividends— a. matter serious enough to shareholders, but simply nothing as compared with ihe effect of tho reduction of income that many households would experience. It is ■ bad enough to contemplate this when n.en aje concerned but when it comes to women and children it must be clear to every sensible man that it requires very great expectod benefits to compensate for the loss and suffering inflicted by a strike, which, once started, nobody knows where it would end. Even after a strike it. would he impossible Io put all tho men lick at work at once. 'Hie first thing would be Io pump the mine, and that takes a long time. As the water permitted, contracts would be resumed and the latteries would be started one after another as the oio Was available. Thus what might only be intended lo be a temporary strike nrglit become very much more serious. There is a. section of tho union, which docs not cndor« the demands, and has passed a. resolution asking the companies to maintain the existing methods, and I can only hope that the union as a body will be guided by the advice of that section." ' There was little inquiry for the Wailu mine shares at the Stock Exchange yesterday in consequence of the present trouble and sales wore effected at £9 3s wl and £9 3s 3d, closing with buyers at £9 2s od and sellers at £9 5s 6d. The previous oay they were done at £9 5s and £9 4s od, closing with- buyers at £9 4s and scilers