ARBITRATION COURT AT WESTPORT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2805, 18 December 1907, Page 38

ARBITRATION COURT AT WESTPORT.

AN IMPORTANT SHTTNGI THE NEW .MINING LAW. BANK-TO-BANK CLAUSE. Mr William Scott, secretary to the Otagr<J Employers' Association, returned to Dun* edin from Wesfcport on Saturday evening. On behalf of the Westport Coal Company . Mr Scott conducted the coal mining dispute between the Granity Creek Coal Miners.* Industrial Union of Workers and the West* port Coal Company (Ltd.). This dispute is of interest to all coal mining companies, inasmuch as it is the first under "The Coat Mines Act Amendment Act,. 1907," which brings into operation the bank-to-bank clause. When the Amendment Act came into force the union took the law into its own hands and arbitrarily fixed the nearest entrance to the bins as the entrance to the underground workings. This did not prove a success, however, as many miners lived nearer the other entrances, and refused to come down a hill to walk back again underground. The older men also complained oi having ti hurry along underground to get to their t working places before* the rope started, instead of, as before, entering in their own time and sitting down inside the entrance enjoying a smoke and getting their " pitt eyes " before going to the face. The vexed! question, was, however, settled in conference between the parties and to the satisfaction of all concerned. The men agreed to observe the usual entrances as the entrances to 'the underground workings, and tha company agreed to allow the travelling time to be given at the end of the ihift, so as tof pillow the miners to take their own time ml going in. In consequence of this bhe hour* ; of work at the Mtllerton mine have been ; fixed as follow: — First shift, 'rom 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the working places.; stoond shift* i from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. a 4 the working | places; third shift, (rom 12 midnight to 1! L a.m. at the working places; with 20 minutes i for "crib." Under this- agreement, which will bo embodied in the lew award, the working hours are defined.. The workers know; exactly what is expected of them, and the rranagement know when to stop and- start; the haulage rope, whioh really governs the working hours in a .nine, as tno workers are not permitted to travel along the haulage ways when the rope is in work. The "workers have thus succeeded in getting the bank-to-bank clause without any reduction: in wages, and are thus considerable gainers.' The company may make good a largo portion of this loss by having the working hours at the face clearly defined. Had the Granity Union adhered to its original decision and worked the bank-to-bank clause from the mine's mouth, as it has done since the coming into force of the act, ib would have meant a loss in the working I time of one hour five Jiinutet per man perr shift, and would, of course, have brought about disastrous results. But under the agreement arrived ah the loss to the com." pany is minimised to the greatest extent. The miners maintain that they will be able to give the company as large an output with reduced working hours, and it remains to be seen whether this will prone correct op not.