STATE COAL-MINE STRIKE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14699, 6 December 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

STATE COAL-MINE STRIKE

The trouble which l>n<l been threatening for some time past at tire. Staf-.i collierie.s came to a head on November 23. when work was discontinued and a strike inaugurated. The output o[ the colliery has brvii nearly 1000 tons a day. and tlie strike all'ec-is s-iimo 400 men, whose a\ersge earning has \v?n nearly 11-; a d.iv. GREYMOI'TIi. Nov. inliei- 23. _ The manager, on being- inlet viewed this evening.stated thai, itwas to he regretted that the men had ceased work, as it would lead to many diilicultics. The dejiarltnent- \v;is firm in its resolve not to accede to the miner*' request, to do Uio trucking unless the hewage rate was reduced. The miners are not under the Arbitration Court, and conseuuently cannot be cited for striking. GENESIS OF THE STRIKE. LENGTHY NEGOTIATIONS. GREYMOUTH. November 24. At the present juncture the history of tlm negotiations will be of interest. " From one of the leaders of the miners a Star reporter gleaned the followine facts:—About live months ago the old agreement expired, and negotiations were immediately entered into lor a new one, the old working conditions remainim; in to roe until the new proposals had been assented to. At the time the Miners' i Union Executive presented its new de- ! mauds, which, besidee a number of minor alterations, embodied the greater one that the management should undertake all the trucking and .jigging in the mine After some parleying the executive agreed to recommend the men to accept the reduction of Id per ton' in the hewing rate, | provided that the management undertook i the trucking an J jigging and accepted the ; other pi-cp-jr-sls as asked for by the men. ! in reply thereto the management asked for j six or eight weeks to consider the sug-

ti;i.i:M, and to this the executive agreed. On '.lie expiry of that period another conference v.:is hold between the management ami cxw.iive, whereat Hie. former submitted a proposal of a reduction of 3d per ton in the- hewing rate of the majority of heights, the miners to truulc 20 yard's am! the management, to undertake the remainder. Following this a mass meeting of the miners was held, when they refused to agree to the propositi. At the meeting they carried a resolution giving the manager 18 hours in which to agree to the proposal that ho should undertake ail trucking and jigging without any reduction in l-ho hewing rate. Next morning {Tuesday week) the secretary of the union presented the, ultimatum to Mr Bishop, and there matters remained for that day On Wednesday another conference was held, whereat the manager submitted an exhaustive statement of the position from his department's point of view, contending that under it the miners would reap a great benefit, and that the cost to the department would be a considerable item. Next morning (Thursday) the secretary of the executive wrote requesting an answer by 1.0.50 a.m., that being the hour at which the ultimatum expired A reply was received ! stating that the purport of the suggestion [ was nut. fully understood. The secretary | answered that it meant that the executive had full power to call out the men if necessary. ■ To this no reply was received. At 4 p.m that, day a mass meeting of miners coming off shift was held, when a motion was carried confirming the previous resolution—namely, that the matter j bo left in the hands of the executive, with i power to act. The result of the men's | deliberations was made known to the j management on Friday morning, and the manager ranies'ed time in which to consider them. The delegation asked if it would be possible to have an answer that evening, but the manager replied in the negative, as ho did alto to a request for a statement on Saturday morning: it 'ivonlil bo necessary ito go into the matter and consult the department. Eventually it was agreed to let the matter, remain I open till Monday- morning for the receipt |of a reply. On Monday another interj view took place, when the manager submilted a material revision of prices with Ja. reduction in the hewing rate. The j executive was not prepared to accept this, ] j holding that the management should do ] j the trucking and jigging without vedtic- ( tion. They could not effect a compro- j j misn in any way. A meeting was to have been held that afternoon, but at the ! manager's request it did not eventuate, ae> I ho had other business to attend to, and it would be necessary to consult with Wellington again. The executive stated that its position was a. precarious one, as it , i had a direct mandate from the miners j ordering that work be stopped if the reply were uin-alisfactory An answer was promised by the morning, and the delegates proceeded to inform the miners how matters stood. They found the afternoon shift congregated on the railway near the surgery, and an informal meeting was , held whereat the previous resolutions weru confirmed. Yesterday morning the executive again interviewed the manager at his office, and found that a. reply had not been received from Wellington. It decided to await, its coming, and after about three hours' delay—at 1.15 p.m.—a reply was received, and the manager made known its contents—namely, that tho Cabinet suggested that the matter in dispute be .submitted to the Arbitration Court or Conciliation Commissioner for settlement The. executive, briefly stated that the mandate of the meeting was that tho men should lay down their tools in the event of the reply being unsatisfactory. That • decision would, therefore, have to be given effect to. The meeting then terminated, and a prearranged signal was givon whereby all work was brought to a standstill. The rope boys were tho first to cease operations, being quickly followed by the truckers, and later by'the miners themselves. Xaturally such a proceeding caused a little excitement, which, how- ; ever, soon passed off without any incident 1 of note. In this manner commenced a, strike which may prove far-reaching in ' its consequences to New Zealand in i general, and the Grey district in par- ■ titular. ! WHAT THE DEMAND MEANS. ! WELLINGTON, November 24. I '.Hie Minister of Mints, interviewed by a l'ost reporter, said-:—" The crucial point \ wa> in regard to miners trucking out from . ', the face, the department to take charge l of the '■ rucks afterwards. This," said Mr M'Ken/.ie, " represented an increased charge of 4d per ton, amounting to about £4000 on last year's order. We couldn't eland it,'' he added, "and we proposed that the question should be settled by tho Conciliation Commissioner ov the Arbitration Court, but the me.i refused, and wo cannot Hie our way to make any further concession." DEPRESSION IX THE DISTRICT. GREYMOUTII, December 1. Although the miners have now- been out a week, there are -no indications of a settlement. The whistle at the mine is sounded every morning for work, but without result. Already the stoppage is having a. depressing effect on luiainesfi in the district. The State tsawinill has ceased work. Tho valuer for tiic Government has desided not to recommend any more advances to workers for building' houses in the district.

Tlio amount paid in wages at the mine averages over £5000 a month.

If is expected that the executive ot the .Miners' Federation will meet at Westport on December 6 to consider the situation and decide on future ad ion.

The greatest reticence is observed over strike matters, and it appears to be the case of a calm k'fore a storm. It one can judjge by the persistent rumours that- are going tho rounds, before many days a general strike will take place. IJolh sides are plying a waiting game, and until a move is made no authentic news can be obtained. ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT. WELLINGTON, December 1. To-night the Prime Minister replied to the Hon. Mr UuiuneWs question as to what attitude.the Government intends to take to bring about a settlement of the trouble. He eaid the Government and manage'mejit for the State collieries at Point

Elizabeth had used every reasonable effort to arrive at the settlement of the points in dispute between the mine manager and the Miners' Executive. After referring to the agreement which had been in force for the last 15 months, and also io the recent demands of the miners, Sir J. G. Ward went on to say that all the questions in dispute had been settled before (lie, strike took piece between the union and the niaiiiiirei', wii'i Ice exception of clause 18. relating io truiking and jigging. Cnder the old agict'im;;{ and under the Arbitration Court awards trucking and jiu'ili',,' had always been done by miners in the Point Kli/ab'cth colliery, as well as in every other colliery on the We.-.t (A>a«t. To concede this demand wrmld have involved an additional cost of about £4000 per annum, based* on last year's output from the mine. The mine, dining tin last working six months, had made no profit, ami there was no immediate pirapect of its doing so in the near future, in eowcqueiieo of" kii adcjitioiial influx of water furl her expensive machinery for pumping had become necessary, and was now under order. This would involvo a consiilciable outlay as well as an increased cost of production. In vic.v of these faets, the l.!n\ eminent considered it impossible lo accede to the miners' rci|iiest, n« tne wages alre.uk- earned by tliem were approximately 14s per day. That was fair and reasonable, and eoni<| not be increased at the expense, of the public or consumers. The Governmen; had always enileavonird to place it.-i enipluvefs in the Slate collieries on a.s goo<i, if not belter, terms than the- miners working in private cmploynifliit. In proof of ihk< the mine .•nnimger advised that the terms of the old agreement were admittedly better than tho present Arbitration Court awards in existence in other mines. l'hc Uovernj incut ofl'cied the men, if tlicy would con- ! tinuo to work in the mine under the old ! syvecnient, to submit the point in dispute (to the Conciliation Commissioner or to itim Court of Arbitration; but, in view of ! ilis difficulties which the position pre■senicd, the Government could not agree j to the minors' demand except by a considerable increase in the cost of icnl to the consumer. This, it need not be said, would have defeated the primary object for which the State coal mines were originally established. Thus it would he seen one of three courses presented itself to the Government—(a) To concede the miners' demand, which would mean a low to the public of about £1000 a year; (b) increase the price of coal to consumers; (c) refuse the demands, and let all the questions be submitted to the Arbitration Court or the Conciliation Commissioner. After full and careful consideration the Government "had come to tho conclusion that the last course was tho only one which it could reasonably adopt.

lii order that members might satisfy themselves as to the miners having been fairly ami equitably treated under the old agreement during the last 12 months, a statement of the miners' wages was attached, which shows that they have taken on the whole an .avenge of Ms Id per man per day, and for tlio period since tlio expiration of tlio, date of the agreement the average rate of wages for the 'time worked would bo the same. Tlio manager reported that if the concession for trucking and jigging were granted it would increase the men's earning power by about 20 per cent. MINERS' EXECUTIVE MEETING. GREYMOUTIT, December 3. Mr Robert Semple (president of the New Zealand Miners' Federation) left by the steitmer Mapourika last night en route to Wellington, where a general meeting of the executivo of the .New Zealand Minors' Federation will be held on Wednesday.

It is understood that the federation will interview the Government and endeavour to come to a satisfactory settlement of the dispute. Ponding this conferenco the miners' manifesto is withheld.