THE RAND STRIKE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18466, 30 January 1922, Page 5

THE RAND STRIKE

NEGOTIATIONS FAIL. RESULTLESS CONFERENCE. LOW : GRADsE MINES ENDANGERED. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, CAPETOWN, January 27. At the resumption of the strike conference the Industrial Federation’s proposals were rejected by the Chamber of Mines. Judge Curlewis thereupon submitted the following proposals as a basis for further discussion: That the statutory regulations regarding the colour bar shall remain' unaltered, the status quo agreement to bo withdrawn; as regards low grade mines, in which the ratio of white to coloured labour shall-' be fixed, the strike to bo called off, the men returning to work as soon as the condition of the various mines justifies a resumption of operations; the abolition of the contract system; the reorganising of underground work to be settled by a conference or board of reference, Tno conference adjourned to enable both sides to consider the proposals. When the conference again met in the afternoon the chairman’s proposals were .rejected by both parties, and the conference terminated without any result being reached.—-A. and N.Z. Cable. AN APPEAL TO REASON. LETTER .FROM GENERAL SMUTS. CAPETOWN, January*27. General Smuts, in a letter to the Chamber of Industries and to the Men’s Federation on the breakdown of the conference, emphasises the .necessity of saving the low grade mines. He declares that the issue is not the colour bar, which is established on statutory regulations and which has never been either attacked or threatened and does not rest on a status quo agreement, which would be a private agreement between the chamber and* the federation. The issue is how to save the low grade mines (which means more than half the mining industry) from extinction at an early date. General .Smuts appeals for reasonableness on both sides, urging them to approach the dispute in a spirit of give and take. He 'states that the Government proposes to do its utmost to assist either or both of the parties in the effort to secure a settlement, and it hopes that nothing will be left undone to attain this end.—Reuter.