THE CONCILIATION BOARD.

Otago Witness, 5 December 1900, Page 54

THE CONCILIATION BOARD.

COAL MINERS' DISPUTE IN CENTRAL OTAGO. (From Otte Own Correspondent^ A reference of an industrial dispute between the Alexandra Coal Company, Robert M. Finlay, William A. Thomson, and Robert Lett, all of Alexandra, and the Clyde Colliers Company, Clyde, and the Otago Coal Miners' Industrial Union of Workers, came before the Conciliation Board at Alexandra. The members of the board present were — Messrs F. R. Chapman (chairman), R. Ferguson, G. P. Farquhar, and J. A. Millar, M.H.R. Mr James Donaldson appeared for the union, Mr A. Hunter for Mr Finlay, Mr G. Turner for the Clyde Collieries. Mr J. Howie for Lett, and Mr W. A. Thomson for himself. Mr Kelman, chairman of directors, was present for the Alexandra Coal Company, for whom Mr W. Carson, manager, appeared, and acted for all the above. The following is the reference filed : — 1. Bords, stentons, and levels 9ft wide and 6ft high and over to be paid for at the rate of 4s 6d. per ton. 2. All coal to be trucked from the face by the company. 3. Truckers to be paid 11s per shifty 4. Deficient places to be paid shift wages, and shall mean places driven through soft, stony, or faulty coal, and places under 9ft wide or 6ft high. 5. Wet places to be paid shift wages for a six hours' shift. 6. Miners when paid shift wages to be paid 11s Gd per shift. 7. No shift man to be allowed to work in places where piece rates have been fixed. 8. No more than one man to be employed in one place. 9. Hours to be eight hours from bank to bank. 10. All timbering work required to be done to be paid for by shift wages. 31. Fouiteen four-bushel bags to constitute a ton. 12. Bags to be equally distributed throughout the mine. 13. Every workman to receive an equal share of work. 14. Wages to be paid fortnightly. 15. Places when worked by two shifts to be pjul at the rat& of 5s per ton. 16. Any workmen taken away from the face to do any work, whether inside or outside the mine, to be paid shift wages. 17. Bracemen to be paid 10s per shift. 18. Unionists to have the preference of employment. 19. Anything not provided for herein to be arranged by the mine manager and the local committee. , Clauses 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 16 were agreed to. MrDonaldson, in stating his case, said he wished to class the Alexandra coal mines with Kaitangata, both seams being large. The rales at Kaitangala, where stentorjs and levels were paid for at yardage rates, were equal lo 4s 6d per ton at tonnage rates. The cost of living in Alexandra was also much dearar on account of the heavy cartage on produce. Clauses 2 and 3 : Coal was in all pits here put in Bags. Clauses 4 and 5 : The board were very clear on these questions at Kaitangata. Clause 9 : Mr Donaldson said the miners nad to put in the whole eight hours in their places, and had to eat their meals there. The Chairman said the board never allowed bank lo bank hours, nor did the judge who had fixed the hours to be Bs>, including a half-hour for meals. Mr Carson said he agreed to that. Clause 10 : Mr Donaldson said if the managers objected to this clause the union would have the coal put on the weighbridge. Clause 14: The system here was monthly, and a ohange was not looked upon with verjy much favour. Mr Carson stated that the men brought the coal on trucks to the bottom of the «haft, the company doing'the rest. The farthest distance the coal was trucked was 80yds. In Lett's pit the farthest distance was 80yds. In Finlay's the proprietor trucks from the face, which is not far. Thomson's pit was the same as Finlay's. In the Clydo Collieries the distance was five or six chains, but the farthest in workings were 13 or 14 chains. Carson's truckers were paid 8s and Finlay's 10s per day. Mr Donaldson objected to iron being put on the roof of a drive to keep the men dry, as it prevented the workmen seeing the roof. He suggested that miners cutting runners- should be included in wet work, to which- Mr Carson agreed. In reply to Mr Donaldson, Mr 'Carson said he asked his men to work only eight hours daily. He allowed 15 bags to the ton. Referring to clause 13, Mr Carson stated that he claimed the right when special work was to be done of putting on the best men he had. The name of the local committee in clause 19 was changed to " Mine Committee." Mr Donaldson asked if a clause could be inserted re holidays; but Mr Carson replied that they could not give their men holidays unless the dredges stopped. Evidence was then taken for the union.

Mr Carson, examined by Mr Donaldson, said the 11s 6d asked for here would be a higher rate than 10s at Kaitangata. He paid £1 a week for board here and 18s when at Kaitangata. He admitted that the shift wage in Alexandra, under present circumstances, must be worth more than at Kaitangata. With his company the price to the dredges at the pit's mouth was 9s; Lett's price was Bs. No dross was rejected in his (Carson's) pit, but in Lett's it was left in the mine, forks being used in place of shovels. In reply to the chairman, Mr Carson said he employed 18 men at present on coal. There were 24 hands altogether. It was only two or three months back that he got things going properly in the mine. He was now paying tonnage rates, and lately had a fair number of men, several of whom, had never previously worked in coal pits. The hewing was dorte with picks. The average earnings by 13 men for the month ending October 25 was 11s 6d each per day, and for tha month ending November 25 the average per day for 17 men was 10s lOJkl. The rate paid per ton was 3s 9d. and the output was About 800 tons per month. The cost per ton to the company was 6s Id, the expenses of

working the mine being heavy on account of water.

Daniel Mathias, practical miner of 10 years' experience, said he earned on an average 9s 7d per day at Thomson's pit on piecework. The rale was 3s 4d per ton of 14 bags trucked from the face. He now worked at Finlay' ?.

John Dunsmuir said he worked for the Alexandra Coal Company. He had 30 years' experience, at shift work all the time. He was now employed stopping water, which woiild take him two months. If the water stoped only one engineman would be required, instead of two, and his own services would not bo required. He thought 30 bags a fair day's work. He had noticed men going to york before 8 o'clock and knocking off at 5.20. William Boyer said he had filled 40 bags when part of it was trucked for him, and could in some places fill more and truck as well. On special occasions he had worked from 7.45 to 4.30.

Robert Thompson said he had worked 2.1 months in the Clyde coal pit, where the late was 3s 4d per ton of 14 bags. Both good and bad places were being worked. He worked eight hours a day. Evidence was then taken on behalf of the mine-owners.

James Howie (manager for Mr Lett) said he pajd 3s 4d per ton at present. The men were in the pit fully eight hours a day, but before the union was formed they did not work eight hours. The average wage was 10s per day, overtime being paid at the rate of day Avages. Forty-two bags comprised a full day s work. The width of the places was Bft Ail coal was trucked from the face to the top Ihere was a great difFerence between Kaitangata and Alexandra coal. -Andrew Hunter, manager for Mr Finlav said he paid 3s Id per ton. The men seemed" conlented enough, and all got their ten shil111133 a day of eight hours. Trucking was done by the proprietor. The men in his pit worked on end and on the plane. * Mr Donaldson pointed out that an end in Alexandra became a level at Kaitangata, and a level a stenton.

Mr Hunter, continuing-, said the grade of the incline was 1 in 10. He considered 4s 6d per ton too much by 9d. and 3s 3d per ton of n bags would be enough, the proprietors doing the trucking. He would rather work at Ivaitangata for 10s a day than in Alexandra xor 11s 6d. The price of the coal was Bs, and to the owner at pit top 6s 2d. The monthly output averaged 230 tons ; five hands being employed. F ; M'Carthy said he had earned £2 Is 3d at the Alexandra Coal Company's pit, ti-uck-insr it himself, in four days. This closed the evidence.

In reply to the Chairman. Mr Carson said only a few of his men were married. Mr Howie said there were five married men working at Lett's.

Mr Carson, in addressing the bench, pointed out that the conditions and rates varied a great deal. He oxpected only eight hours a day from his men, excont when there was special pressure of work. The place? ran fiom Bft to 10ft, but most were 10ft., wide. The working of the pit was expensive, and he a^ked consideration to bo given to the fact that his company gave 15 "bags to the ton, wliile others allowed 14.

Mr Howie stated that it cost 14s 6d a day to take water out of Lett's pit. The Alexandra Coal Company's coal was superior to the Manuherikia coal, and took their trade away. Regarding holidays, the men in his pit in the last four months did not average more than 22 day 3 per month, for which they received £11 each. Mr Lett was a few pounds out each of the lan,t four months, and if they had to give an increase to the miners the price to the public would have to be raised.

Mr Donaldson remarked that "Lett's loss was no doubt due to his supplying coal to the di edges at lower rates than other proprietors. The proceedings then closed.