SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18453, 14 January 1922, Page 10

SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS

, situation. • f ■ ■ '-.sennj-d •-■'MODERATE TONE PREVAILS. ‘ Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. ■ CAPETOWN, JanuarjP 12. ■ Almost-moderate tope continues’to pre-, vail, in. Johannesburg. The essential service* f are-j/running smoothly. There has beeA'inwlyr'slight trouble on matters ofdetail in three places. The men’s speeches on the Reef show practically nc» bitterness.---Reuter. (■The labour situation in the Transvaal for 'some time past has engaged much attention. In . view ,of the high, working costs and-the diminishing value of gold, the mines acai se,ekipg reorganise their labour forces - ’utilisation of native or coloured labour, 'especially in semi-skilled occupations. - To this the trade unions .Tiave been ' the depressed; “Kaffir market ’’ iii'London was greatly cheered by jno.wa that General Smuts and Sir Lionel Phillips . had, succeeded, as negotiators for the . owners, in persuading the miners’ unions to agree to an increase of about 40 per cent, in the effective working hours of’th’o, hativO employees. It now appears that'in. a "further attempt to reduce productive coats- the owners are proposing to employ more*' Coloured labour, and that the fight •fwalf ibe. mainly on this question. Some of tbs practical difficulties which have led tp the dispute were outlined by Sir Evelyn Wallers,' kn ex-president of , the Transvaal Chamber‘of Mines, in a speech that he •made a few weeks ago at Johannesburg. It:had,-hd said, become, of the utmost'importance To get a full day’s work from both livhitesi and K rearrangement of underground* organisation was essential if the : industry was to be restored to a safe Ismis; and he foresaw that the rearrangement would involve a conflict with trade union--restrictions, particularly with regard ■ colour Question, But unless this colour difficulty were overcome full emplc- - ment for, whites could not long be r.,.-ui-tainccl. , The . managers of the mines, Sir Evelyn Wnller added, must be left free to secure thW , 'beat restilts possible, from the contract Systehi and the t%o of semi-skilled labour — underground. Ime Chamber of Mines was - ■wjllmg to fix the ratio for natives and whiles for a period of years in order to .‘protect, efficient white workmen and to dispose of tFe’unions’ fears that the owners wore try- . ing tb’pave the way for an unlimited reduction in the number of white workers.,l