LOOSE COAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2928, 27 April 1910, Page 36

LOOSE COAL.

SHIFT WAGES OR PIECEWORK. COLLIERY COMPANY SUED. Mr H. Y. Widdoweon, S.M., at tha Magistrate's Court on the 21st resumed tha hearing of the case of Joseph Hollows (Inspector of Awards) v. Christie Bros., mina owners, Saddle Hill. The sum of £2O wast claimed as a penalty for a breach of they award, it being alleged that defendants hadf* taken two miners from the face- to fill kjqsa' coal, and hod paid tJhem shift wages instead of piecework rates. Plaintiffs had urged! that this had been pillar work. During the* previous hearing Mr Allan ..(for defendants) had applied for a non-suit. The Magistrate said he had considered the point.. It had been suggested that procedure should be by civil action, but in!, his opinion the case was not on. that footing. Therefore, if there was any case to answer, he thought it the duty of the Court to hear the fuil case. The defence would, therefore, be proceeded with. _ Mr Allan stated that loose coal was con* tinually coming down in the mine. Suchr a thing a:s paying piecework rates for filling) loose coal was unknown in local mining! circles. The award provided that any mineri taken away from the face to do any work in' the mine should be paid shift wages. Shift wages were set down at 10s. He contended' that the objection raised oould only to men hewing coal, but not to filling loose, ooal. James Christie, consulting mining engineer to Christie Bros., said the crush ini No. 2 mine began to trorabfe them early last year. They worked with a view to stopping it before doing anything to the pillars. The roads got so low that the men could not get in. Work there was abandoned fen- some time. The crush was caused}' by some soft country beinsr struck and the peculiar formation of the hill. The natural tendiency of the crush was down" hill. The pillars were sinking into the floor. It was necessary to remove the ioc&e coal, which was heated, to make roomfor timbers to support the roof. Under the act the roadways had to be kept clear. In the mine a staff of deputies did odd" jobs, such as filling loo.se coal. They were paid shift wages —10s a shift. If the deputies could not overtake this work miners were taken from the face, and also paid! shift wages. The present demand was a> big order, and would, affect all coal mines in New Zealand. Mr Allan: This is the thin edge of tha wedge. Continuing, witness said no pilars had been extracted and no pillaring work done, as he understood it. No coal had been taken off the sides of the pillars. The trouble had been to keep it on. No brushing (for which a special rate waa paid) was done. To Mr Hollows: The matter of superintendence of the removal of «pilLaa-s had, diuiring the iast five years, been done bytho mine manager, assisted by himself. In a creep, props would stop the roof from falling if the pillars were crashed. There were places filled with ooal, in close proximity to the place in point, which had come down at the s?..rae time. This ooal had not been touched. The Inspector put several questions, -with a view to finding out how roadways could be cleared without brushing, and whether brushing had not been resorted to on one or more occasions. Witness replied that there was a difference between brushing (heightening to orig-« inal height) and taking down head coal. Portions of broken away or cracked coal in the roof had been, in this case, propped', and not removed. Whether breakaways so propped would help in supporting the roof must depend on circumstances and the size of the breakaway. Re-examined, w'fness said that Messrs Christie Bros, had all along refused to pay piecework wages for fuiinjg loose coal, either to the deputies or to miners from the face. Robert Hill, manager for No. 2 mine, saidi' he had had 44 years' eKpeirience. He had! directed the two men in respect of whom the breach was alleged to '■accompany the deputy manager and an assistant to lay rails and clear away loose coal, so that necessary props might be placed in position. Shift wages had always been paid for this class of work. Witness had asked the secretary of the union for a price far clearing away the loose coal and putting in prcjps. The secretary viewed the places and said it could not be done. This proposal had: been, witness's own idea, and Messrs Christie,, on> being consulted, decided against fixing a price for this kind of work. ' It was a serious matter, and several consultations had been he'd concerning it. At the time when these men were put on to clear the! road no one oould get at the working face, so everyone in the mine was on shift wages.. No hewing was done by either Fenton or>' Hethermgton, the men said to have been taken from the face. Thomas Barclay, manager of the Jubilee, colliery. Green Island, gave evidence as to the pillars still standing at the place in point. The work .done was simply repair work."' The invariable practice was to pay shift wages to men taken from the face to fill loose coal. He did not recollect four men being weeks and weeks doing nothingelse but filling loose coal. Richard Gi'eien, geneira! manager of Freeman's Company, and underviewer, said if men were taken from the face to do any, work they were always paid shift wages.: . Further evidence having been given, the Magistrate said he would visit the. mine on Monday. The case would be adjourned.'