COAL-MINERS' TROUBLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14278, 29 July 1908, Page 3

COAL-MINERS' TROUBLE

— -«B>— GREEN ISLAND CONFERENCE , CONCLUDED. MINERS WILL NOT GIVE WAY. PREPARED TO CEASE WORK. The conference between the Green Island coal-miners ancl their employers was continued at the Commercial Hotel, Green Island yesterday afternoon. Mr P. Hally, of the Labour Department, again presided. THE MEN'S DEMANDS. Considerat-ion of the clause of the employees' reference was resumed. The following are the main differences between the present ward and the reference as Clod: Shift wages to be 10s per shift, instead of 93 6d; and Is per shift extra to be paid to a man employed on night shift—the night to mean from i p.m. to 12 midnight. Wet places to be paid for at shift wages, lis for six hours' shift, and a wet placc to mean when water is dropping from the roof or present underfoot. No man to lift his rails for the purpose of stowing dross, and: no dross to bo stored within 6ft of a working face; all dross' to be cleaied away before_a mm starts in a new place. Trucking distanco from the face 'not to excecd three chains, instead of four chains; if the distance be over three chains minors to receive 4d per ton extra for every additional chain. Truckers to receive Is per day increase in daily wages. "Workmen not to bs called out. for less "than half a day's work, and such work to be in the forenoon. Preferenco to employment to be given to unionists, and emplovers not to discriminate against members of the union. Eight hours from bank to bank to be waked. The following are the proposed clauses relating to deficient .places: — When a mincrl considers bis place to bo deficient from any cause wha'ever the managsuient may agree with the miner as to al'.ow-ince (if any) to be paid. In the event of a failure to agree the president and secretary, or any two persons appointed by the committee oi the union, shall be asked by either party to try to Fettle the case. In the event of tire afoiesaid failing to agree the miner shall be paid shift for the time worked during the invcftigstion of the complaint. The management shall then be at liberty to remove the man and give him another placc. The management then 'shall have liberty to work the alleged place a-s long as they deem ncce-rarv as long as the place is dec-mcd to be deficient, provided Ilnt . any miner employed in that placc alleged to be deficient aflr another has been removed shall ba paid not less than lis per shift. | No coal to bi worked on shift wages except in deficient places, which is, to mean | whore a minor cannot earn shift wages. ' SHALL WE CONTINUE? In discussing the descriptions proposed ; to define a wet place, some animated coni versa-lion took place. > Mr Green said yesterday the conference ! got stuck up on the question of piece rates, and the employers to some extent gave • way. The employees insisted on their ! reference being considered, and the cmi ploycre agreed to that. The employers I gave way on the balloting clause, and, to 1 help things along, they agreed to assume' - that they had granted 4d. He wondered - if the minors knew exactly what they were | asking. Taking the employees' reference r as a basis, lie had worked out the total I extra cost that would be incurred by the . employers were the men's proposals car- , ried and he found that the total increase would not be less than 35 per cent. If I he was to take every point into consideration, the increase would be a. good deal [ more than that. The men made it appear they wore giving everything, whereas j they were giving nothing. The ooal-mino owner was not like a shopkeeper, who, when he was losing on one line, simply ' secured his .profits from other lines; the j owner had only coal to sell, and must sell it at fixed prices. The men wanted a little here, and another little increase there, which, altogether, meant that the owners ' would find Ihe cost, of production 35 per cent, more than at the present time. He j thought it was no use continuing the eonforence further, for the men were prepared to concede nothing, ! The Chairman spoke briefly, reasoning 1 . with the members of the conference and fn-ing to throw oil on the troubled wafers. Mr Forbes said that as far as the cost of production was concerncd, Mr Weston 5 asked the employers yesterday if ii.liev 5 could give him particulars of the cost of ' production. The employers refused the ' information, and now, liec-anso they per- ; sisted in their demand!, lho employers - practically told them they did no* know 1 what thev wanted. This was what tiioy ' wanted: a. fair day's wage. They must 3 admil iliat the miners in Green Island had t been in the past getting a mere' existence, j They must admit that within the last few > months 100 men had left Green Island ■ simply because they could not earn a living f wage.—(Employees: "That is true.' I )—Tho • men in Green Island had lived under j those conditions long enough, dud were ' not going to do so any longer. They had 1 come to the conference in the hopes of arriving at an amicable setlement and one f satisfactory to 'both sides, and last night they went, away thinking that a settlement f was practically arrived at. But. the em--1 ploycrs had come forward that- day and I were prepared to give absolutely nothing. '• The giving had all been on ihe miners' i side. > Mr Green: Xaiue it. > Mr Forbes said he would do so. In ■ balloting the men gave way. : 1 Mr Green: You hail to. It was pro- ; vided for in the Mining Act. Mr Forbes paid the union gave way in !• piece rates 1o the extent of 4d per "ton. • Now they found that thev must, keep on ! give, giving, all along the line. ' Mr Hollows: We have asked for nothing ; in this reference thai we do not cxpeet to ' get. We did noi make big demands with . the idea of redueimr t.hein afterwards. Mr Forbes said the employers would not > agree to pay their demands for headings • under 6ft, or for crosscut headings. They s had reduced levels 6?i and over to 3s. anil , Tor levls under 6fi thev would agree to . pay nothing. Mr Freeman said {.hat instances ' ()Uot«l by Mr Forbes had been struck out ) altogether. Mr Forbos's remarks were r deliberately misleading in some respects. | Mr Freeman went on to say that the - incvea.se referred to in tlm cost nf produci- ing ooal was us between I lie conditions i;n- - posed by ihe old award and those of I ho l suggested award. Tltere were many things bearing on mining that the workers knew 1 nothing at all about. For instance, by the t miners' sick and accident fund a tax ; i>f i ill per ton was put on all coal produced. ; In 1906 legislation was passed taxing the , output of toal over and above the land , lax, and this, in one instance, worked but • at no less than 3d per ton. In addition to r that the had to pay r;ues imposed I by local bodies. The insurance ra.tc6 were v heavy— per £100 of wages,—and that • would lie largely increased if the present i proposals were carricd. Then they had tho ba.nk-t.o-bank clause, which reduced the • working time by half an hour daily.; and,

further, men in other districts had better facilities for handling the coal. (ii'ccn Island coal was of a [looiilial- quality: if it, were lort l.vinif in the weather it crumbled, so that if thoy did not. want it to deteriorate- the owners in a slack time could not gi;| out a big; reserve of coal. Tin; local rates were a very big item, amounting in fomo of the local pits to £100. The cost, of timhering in Green Island was another difficulty. He did not kllu\V of ally other busiiic-s that carried so' many burdens as did coal-mining—and those burdens appeared to he constantly increasing. Mr AVeston said lis plainly foresaw that; the conference was at an end. He was sorry, for lie had (kmc his best to effect an amicable settlement, of the dispute. Tn reference to the statements made about the east, of production, lie pointed out that the day before lie had tried to glean information on that point, but had been unc-ucccss-ftil. Had lie done so, lie would have sat up all night and endeavoured to arrange that the men's demands be in accord with the Mate of the eoal industry, lint that, information was withheld, and the meji hail «ii-.olutely .uotliiiip to go on. What proof had they that the coal-mining" industry was not paying'; Mr' Freeman: The State coal mines, 11-i" Vostoii said that was not Green Island. The men came to the conference seeking an amicable settlement, but that seemed impossible. The men wanted a living wage, and they believed that, the state of the industry entitled iliem to it. If (-lie coal industry was not paying were 111? men to suffer? lie repeated that, lie wa6 ' sorry the proceedings had come to nothing. He was afraid now thai the men woukl oiul by breaking the law. Tile Chairman said-lie understood t.liat even did the conference prove abortive, the wen would not in any wav defy the law. Tliev were' prepared to follow the dispute to the Arbitration Court, and do nothing unconstitutional. Members agreed that, this was correct. Mr Brcmner said be wanted to prove that the men. were getting-a living wage. The chairman bad made a statement that men could not get out. more coal than W boxes por day, and it was contended tiliat 9s 4d reooivwl for this was not a fair wage for the work. He could assure them the average was nearer 17' or 20 boxes,per day, which represented an. iverago . wage of over 10s per (lay. The men were asking for an additional 4d, and this would work out, evon with 14- 'boxes, at nearer 12s- 2d per day' than 10s. Tho men were at present asking more than could possibly, bo given, for wero their demands granted all profits would be oliminated from the owners' balance sheets at the end of the year. _ , After some further discussion it was resolved to continue the consideration of the clauses. THE KESULT-OF CONFERENCE, All the clauses respecting the introduction of weighbridges, the fixing of shift wages, the specification of trucking conditions, and tiuckers' wages were held over for future consideration—probably by the Arbitration Court-. A satisfactory arrangement was effected as to the conditions governing the sharpening of tools, timbering, the distribution of trucks, the payment of aged or infirm workers, conditional preference to unionists, and leave of absence to workmen to attend to union business. As previously agreed upon by the parties concerned, the clauscs settled ■ stand as a definite and binding agreement . for masters and men. As the union representatives were about to retire to consult with the mon at their . big meeting in the Drill Hall, Mi- Brush said they had considered the questions before them . very fairly. I-n a nutshell, the position was-that all the mine- . owners could offer was 2d, and they dare , not go bsyond that; thev could not sug- . gest a rise now in the price of.coal. If > the dispute wero taken to the court and I fought out on its merits! and tho court • said the owners had to pay 4d. then , tho : owners would submit; and no doubt the men would do the same. Had he the i men's assurance that they would fall in with the award of the oonrt? i The men's, representatives intimated that ■ they could give no assurance without autho- > rity from the mon thcniselyes. i Mr Brugh said he understood that tliere I were men behind them. Would tho erar plovers give an assurance that they would I carry out tho spirit of an award if it were . made. There had been several ixmipkints s that pin-prickings had been going on in > connection with the administration of the > present award. ■ The employers, without hesitation, gave 1 the requested assurance. ' Mr Brugh said that much good would 5 result from the present conference, wliati cve-r happened. If the court said they ' must pay 4d, the owners must grin and ? boar it. They offered 2d. which, considor--1 ing the rise recently received, was all they could offer at present. Much of the busi--3 ness transacted during the last two days 1 was merely tentative, for' just as the employees had the men behind them, the employers had the association behind them. I He wanted 'the men's representatives to . point out. to them why the employers could not possibly offer any more tha\i they did. 5 Mr Forbes said they might rest assured , that the. w|iole of the facts would bo placed > as clearly before the men as was possible. • The present financial prospects of the trade - would be mode clear, and all ite future 5 possibilities, and tliey would not fail to ) make clear the issues involved in the cost ;' of a weighbridge and recent increased taxa--1 tion. He, personally, did not wish for 3 any trouble, and if the case camo before 3 the oourt, and an award were he 1 bslievcd that the men would conform with 3 the provisions of that award as amicably - a.s had been the case in the past. 3 The conference, was then adjourned, f while the representatives of the men met - the latter in camera and discussed the 1 position. s THE MEN'S FINAL DECISION. ° WILL CONCEDE NOTHING. 3 At the men's meeting Mr Love presided. 1 Mr Forbes detailed the proposals agreed i to by the employers and tho conditions , offered. s Mr Weston, addressing the men, advised r them not to adopt drastic measures, and 9 hoped that they would faithfully comply - with any award that might be made by 1 the court. He paid a great, compliment to Mr Rally's abilities as an absolutely im- ; partial chairman. :1 Mr Love, in speaking to tbo men, stated :. that tho union delegates wore prepared to t come to an amicable settlement,, but ihe i masters would not meet them in any \a.v. > Alter nearly two hours' discussion, the folf lowing motion was carried unanimously I'll "That this meeting docs not approve of • anything that was done at- the conference, s and that the employers' offers be not enter-1 v t-niiie<L M ! p Tile meeting having come to an end, the t employers were invited in. They came I and seated themselves at one end of the hall. The miners formed a semi-circle if round them. 1 Mr Forbes, addressing the owners, said ? the whole of the proceedings of tile con--3 ference and the decisions arrived at were r placed fully before the members of the J Green Island Branch of the Otago C«al i Miners' Union, which, in conjunction willi f Mr Brugh's recommendations, were fully considered. As a result, they had arrived t at this conclusion: That the Green Island i branch would accept .nothing below the • 4d asked for. wit'h weighbridge, shift • wages,, and yardage rates.--(Cheers.) And, ; continued Mr Forbes, L may mention that it never was at any time the. intention of Ihe Green Island miners to go out on strike. ■ as has been reported in the papers. 'Ihe 1 men have been, with one exception, working under rotten laws and rotten management, arid have been only waiting on the next sitting of the Arbitration Court. That 1 is why the men haw hung tu their guns so • long. If the., court cannot grout Ihe re--1 quest of the men. the miners v* 11 have to cease work and go away and get tut exist-

?uce in some other colony.— (Cheers.) 'J hoy jannol. live under present conditions, ai.d C therefore tliey arc going to knock ofl' \ T -oik a and get work elsewhere. • . = Mr Love 6akl- the men were fully informed of all that had transpired at tho and their ilceisiou luid been unanimous. ■Mr Forbes (addressing the men)-', llavc I said vigli", or have I said wrong? The Men (in chorus); You arc right! Sir Weston said flint, although the conference had ended unsuccessfully. the men's delegates thereto had met with the be.st. 311(1 most considerate treatment • at the! hands nf the employers. They could not have found a. more callable or more im- - pnrlial chairman than Mr llally, whoso , control of Ihe. conference had helped it as far as it was possible to do,towards a satisfactory se-Ulcmcnt. Mr llally said none regreited more tiwn he did that the conference had not been siicces.-ful. It, was not, the fault of the miners' representatives that things had turned out. so: the unfortunate thing was that, the Jailor's hands were tied. They went there lo do their very best for (lie men, conditionally, of course, that the owners accepted ihe hewing rate of 4d per ton. The employers, however, decided that tliey could not give more than 2d— anil if was impossible- that, anything more could be done. He believed the conference had done good, for it showed that the men were not disposed to go against the law in furthering their demands, and lie felt sure that the men would not. break the law. They had met the employers by the recommendation, of tlie court, iind he urged them to go again before t.h-. court, for the court would give them a fair settlement. As for the conference and his connection with it, he could assure them it liad been a pleasure to preside over it. lie \va<s only sorry thai, nothing had come of it. " I believe, now," said Mr Hally, at tho eleventh hour it. may lie possible to fix things up. Remain quietly, at your work, and allow your representatives to gather all possible information about your conditions of work, and submit the whole ma.tler to the Arbitration Court.'' Mr Bnigli said that, though sorry to see that the conferencc unsuccessful, ho did not think the whole matter was ended: that, while present efforts towards a settlement had proved abortive, it would b<a.r better fruit in fhe future. That nothing had _come of it was certainly not duo, to Mr iially, who, as chairman, deserved the greatest credit for his control of tho meeting. Evidently there was nothing else for it but to take the ease to tho Arbitration Court, where lie _ believed an amicablo adjustment of thoir differences might be obtained. The employers had every faith in the Court of Arbitration, and lie believed he was correct in assuming that tho men had also. Loud chorus of Employees: "No!" Mr Brugh: Well, X feel sure you will take tho best stops possible for a settlement of tho. matters in dispute. I think that in the course of the next few months all this will have blown over, and you will recognise then that..you havo been asking too much. . Chorus: "No, no!" Mr JJrcmner said they had done their, best to meet tho men and. adjust their ditterences, and ho was sorry nothing more } came of the conference. He hoped tho dispute would bo more satisfactorily settled I by the court. Ho expressed his appreciation at tho. very able manner in which 1 Mr Hally carried out the duties of chairman. Mr Forbes interrogated tho employers .as to whether he was an agitator or not. He had been tailed an agitator by a prominent person. The owners had met him in conference. Did they consider him to be an agitator? The employers assured l\lr Forbes that they did not think him an agitator. Mr Forbes: Well, tho tiling is at an end. When we go before tho oourt I am going to fight you ,tooth-and-nail, a,nd with tho assistance and honesty of the miners and the same oil the other side, wo will beat you—(Tremendous applause.) If we cannot get justice from the Arbitration Court, the miners are going to seek work elsewhere.— (Cheers.) Continuing) he said he was prepared to take their preforenco list and argue it clause by clause with the mine-, owners. Mr Hally thought ifcwas not worth while continuing the discussion, and on his suggestion the meeting terminated. A conference will be held between tho Allandale coal miners and thoir -employers at Allandalo this afternoon. Messrs Weston and Forbes will be present. The Kaitangata contributor to the Freo Press says: " A Jargcly-attendod meeting of the union was held in BurreJl's Hall on Saturday -evening, but the deliberations wore not open to tho press, It, is understood that the meeting was called to appoint delegates for the coming conference, as well as to hear Mr Forbes's report on tho position in Dunedin and in the branches. It transpires, however, that beyond hearing Mr Forbes at length, and fixing a 2£ per cent, levy, nothing of importanco was done. It is not known whether delegates will be appointed by the men at a meeting before Friday, but this should certainly be done, and representatives who have the confidence of the majority should confer with tho other side. The question is asked on all sides ' Will there be a 6trikoV In -answer one can emphatically say that if it is left, to the Kaitangata miners alone there will not be any such tiling, but there may be such a thing as coming out in sympathy with some other branch of tho union. In ease of a strike elsewhere there may be a danger here, but from what can be gathored among the men tho 'striko idea' is remote here, and would tako a vast amount of ' working up.'" GOVERNMENT MAKING READY. (Peb United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, July 28. In order to bo propared for contingencies it is understood that considerable extra, supplies of coal ore being laid in at tho Aldington Railway Workshops.

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