SUMMONSES ISSUED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24792, 17 December 1941, Page 8

SUMMONSES ISSUED

CHARGES AGAINST MINERS WAR REGULATIONS INVOKED Under the War Emergency Regulations,' between 160 and 170 summonses have been issued against the. men concerned in the stoppage at the Dobson colliery on Friday. The charges (says the Greymouth correspondent of the Christchurch Press) have been made against members of the union who allegedly committed a breach by ceasing to work. The mine resumed on Monday morning. At the meeting which the Minister of Mines (Mr P. C. Webb) attended at Wallsend the president of the Grey Valley Miners' Union (Mr W. Purdy). who is one of the dismissed men. said the whole of the trouble at the Dobson mine was with the management. The men had been accused of being disloyal and of hiding behind the Minister, but that was not the case, The men had suffered from irritating tactics from the management. He said that only that morning at a union meeting it was unanimously decided to work any or all of their holidays if called on by the Government. The Minister, in his address, said that coal supplies were about 80,000 tons short, and he emphasised the need for the fullest co-operation by the men and all concerned in making up that deficiency.. He considered that the men were wrong in holding the stopwork meeting that had caused the trouble last week; but he would not discuss > that matter with them at present. He thanked them for passing the resolution, but assured them that they would not be called to work- on their holidays unless it Was urgently necessary. - .. ■ j, '■ There were. Mr Webb said, "a few irresponsibles" who seemed to take a delight in stopping the mine on the least provocation. This state of affairs could not continue. , On the other hand, no mine manager or owner would be allowed to irritate the men and bring about stoppages. He would, not allow " Rafferty's" rules to obtain in the coal mining industry.