AN ILLEGAL STRIKE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24835, 7 February 1942, Page 6

AN ILLEGAL STRIKE

DOBSON MINERS CONVICTED COMMENT BY MAGISTRATE (P.A.) ' GREYMOUTH, Feb. 6. One hundred and eleven Dobson miners, who pleaded not guilty, were to-day convicted at Greymouth by the magistrate, Mr G. G. Chisholm, on charges that they were individually parties to a strike, contrary to the Strike and Emergency Regulations. All were ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within 12 months; Seven wet time men were also charged, but as these had lost no time their cases were dismissed. The evidence showed that on December 12 in the afternoon the men Held a stop-work meeting without obtaining permission, and the manager, Mr J. u. Quinn, consequently dismissed four union officials on the ground that they had obstructed the work. The men thereupon decided not to resume until the officials were reinstated. • Subsequently, the Minister of Mines, Mr p C Webb, intervened, ordering a resumption of work, and reinstated the union officials at the mine. The magistrate said that, while a breach of the regulations had been proved, the men, having left work without permission, thought themselves justified in their action, believing they had ample business to justify a stopwork meeting, for which they had never previously been refused permission. The trouble should not have been allowed by the management to go as far as it had.