THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1330.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21198, 2 December 1930, Page 8

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1330.

THE BRITISH COAL INDUSTRY. Trouble is again rather acutely manifest in the British coal industry. Notifications by the owners of wage reductions have been productive of opposition on the part of the miners accompanied by threats of a stoppage of work. Mr A, J, Cook is content in the meantime to describe the situation as grave. It seems not improvable, however, that at least a temporary compromise will be effected, pending the discovery of a means cf settlement. The National Industrial Board constituted under recent legislation by the Labour Government for the hearing of disputes in the coal industry—a tribunal to which certain districts represented by the Coal Owners’ Association have refused to make nominations—has now an opportunity of proving its usefulness. It is apparently endeavouring to persuade the parties to compose their differences. The greatest difficulty in this relation has apparently presented itself in South Wales and Scotland, neither of which regions has representation on the part of the owners on the National Board. Apparently the basis of compromise recommended by the Board consists in the adoption in the meantime of the spreadover of hours as an alternative to a reduction in wages. According to the secretary of their federation the miners regard a spreadover as equivalent to the continuance of the eight-hour day. “ The reduction of hours provided for in the new Coal Mine? Act,” wrote recently Mr W. A. Lee, secretary of the Mining Association of Great Britain, “again places us at a disadvantage in the

matter o£ weekly hours of- work, which will, however, be minimised if the miners’ organisations agree to the adoption of the spreadover principle for averaging the hours of work over the week or fortnight. Unfortunately the question of hours of work is not yet disposed of, as in the absence of legislative action a further reduction of half an hour a day would automatically take place in July next, making the position of the British coal mining industry quite impossible.” A temporary arrangement as to the spreadover of hours has been accepted in some districts, but the conference of miners’ delegates is against the system, and the Government is interesting itself in mediatory efforts in the hope of preventing a stoppage of work in the industry. Such a stoppage daring winter in the Old Country, with the Christmas season close at hand, and unemployment pressing as seriously as ever as a national problem, would be seriously unfortunate. There seems to be room for hope in the meantime that it will be avoided. A renewal of depressed conditions in the British coal industry, coupled with the prospective effect of the new- legislation, has no doubt contributed largely to the creation of the present difficult position. Prom the operations of the industry in the March quarter of this year, in which every district was worked at a profit arid the credit balance for the whole industry was nearly £3,500,000, there was subsequently a decided falling off. For the June quarter the production of coal showed a decrease of nearly ten million tons, this heavy decline in the output being mainly due to smaller home consumption. The effect of the decreased production was an increase in costs to the industry as a whole higher than any recorded for the last three years. British wages remain the highest in any of the great European coalproducing countries, but an effort is being made to standardise working conditions on an international basis through the agency of the international labour organisation at Geneva, It is to be noted that the central council for the coal marketing scheme m Britain has decided that in view of the reduced demand for coal the figures for the maximum output to be produced in various districts must be considerably curtailed for the initial quarter of the coming year.