SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS

Otago Witness, Issue 3542, 31 January 1922, Page 17

SOUTH AFRICAN MINERS

MEN TABLE NEW DEMANDS. OONFERENCE WITHOUT RESULT. CAPETOWN, January 21. Johannesburg is now without trams, the power being reserved for light. Citizens are exhorted to use it sparingly. Meanwhile the conference lias achieved rio result. The coal question was submitted to the colliers of the various coal fields, and the conference proceeded to discuss the Victoria Tails power dispute. The latest position is that the men have tabled further grievances. The much-advertised strike precession at Johannesburg was disappointing, while only 2000 assembled at a mass meeting at the union ground. The speeches were moderate. Dr Visher appealed for law and order, telling the audience that the Minister had a martial law proclamation in his drawer at. his Pretoria home. Ninety-five per cent, of the procession were Dutch, and most ot the speeches were in Dutch. CAPETOWN. January 22. After negotiations lasting all day the Town Council of Johannesburg secured the consent of the Labour Federation to use 7t)o tons of coal. This will ensure lighting and water supplies for a week. Everything is quiet. The men’s leaders are exhorting their followers to observe law and order. POLITICAL ASPECT. CAPETOWN, January 22. The week-end passed quietly in Johannesburg, the most prominent feature being speeches by the Nationalist leaders urging the miners to persist in the strike and to do everything in their power to support the Nationalists in sweeping the Smuts Government from power. These declarations give a political aspect to the industrial position. PUBLIC: GROWS IMPATIENT. CAPETOWN, January' 24. The prolongation of the strike is causing public clamour for a settlement. The miners are beginning to feel the pineli, as the funds of their federation are limited. Already 25,000 natives have been repatriated. which, even when the strike i 3 settled, will involve a serious curtailment of mining operations, and will affect trade. The conference is making slow progress. It announces that it is discussing the gold mining position, which is the most formidable problem to solve. To-day the De Beers explosive factory suspended operations temporarily owing to the closing of the mines. heavy working expenses CAPETOWN. January 25Ihe Miners’ Federation is again aiming at the stopping of essential services in the mines. It has requested the Mine Otfi fiats’ Association to take ,i ballot regard ui£ the continuance of this work.

Mr Buckle, president of the Chamber of Mines, opened the case for the mine owners at the conference on the gold mines question. He stated that, as a result of the natives leaving, the mines would be seriously hampered in restarting, and he .doubted whether it would now be posswnle to carry on on the chamber’s original terms. Mr Buckle said he thought also that, owing to flooding, it might not be worth while reopening some of them. Generally speaking, it was difficult to say on what terms it would be worth reopening some of the mines. There was great difficulty regarding re-employment, and, if the strike 1 lasted only' a short time longer, more and more mines would find themselves unable to reopen. Thus there was most serious difficulty in coming to an agreement. Continuing, Mr Buckle affirmed that the Chamber of Mines never had any idea of removing the colour bar. In seeking to terminate the status quo of the agreement the main desire was to retrench redundant white workers. The chamber was prepared to give guarantees as to the ratio of whites to blacks. Sir Evelyn Wallers reiterated that the cancellation of the status quo did net mean the removal of the colour bar. The position of the industry made retrenchment inevitable, and the strike made greater retrenchment unavoidable. Mr Gemmell emphasised the fact that 17 mines in December made a. loss or a negligible profit. Half the industry was noyv at the point of making calls. With reduced costs hundreds of millions of tons of low-grade ore could be worked.. STATEMENT BY THE MEN. CAPETOWN, January 26. So far there is no sign of a settlement of the strike at the gold mines. At a conference the men’s representatives argued that the mine officials should be retrenched correspondingly' with the miners. They declined to accept the figures of the ratios presented on belialt of the Chamber of Mines, and declared that the present crisis is temporary, and that the chamber was taking advantage of this to force the position and get rid of the white miners. The official summary states that the men’s cause is more a matter of charges against the mine-owners than of argument on the existing situation. THE COAL MINES ISSUE. CAPETOWN, January 26. The colliery section of the Chamber of Mines has withdrawn its offer to the coal miners, on the ground that-sufficient time has elapsed for them to give an answer. Subsequently notices were posted at the collieries discharging all the strikers. The federation submitted to the Chamber of Mines proposals for a basis of settlement with regard to the coal section, and asked for the withdrawal of the notices and the submission of the dispute to arbitration. As regards the gold section, the federation asked for the withdrawal of all notices and no interference whatever with the status quo of the agreement. The federation and the unions separately are

prepared to discuss with the employers all other questions in dispute in conference in accordance with past procedure. No settlement of the general strike will be made until various outstanding disputes are settled. When the Strike Conference resumed the workers continued their attacks upon the chamber’s proposals, and declared that the Government and the Chamber of Mines vrere in collusion, and that the mine-owners were limiting the production in order to increase the profits. One delegate said that the men would not bo defeated without bloodshed. The conference has virtually ended, the men’s delegates declaring that no good purpose could be served by continuing the discussions. The representatives of the Chamber of Mines emphatically protested against the termination ol the conference before they were given an opportunity to reply to the mens charges. No afternoon session was held, but the conference will meet to-morrow to hear the result of the proposals which the federation submitted to the chamber as given above. LOW GRADE MINES ENDANGERED. CAPETOWN, January 27. At the resumption of the strike conference the Industrial Federation’s proposals w'ere rejected by the Chamber of Mines. Judge Curlewis thereupon submitted the following proposals as a basis for further discussion : That the statutory regulations regarding the colour bar shall remain | unaltered, the status quo agreement to be ! withdrawn; as regards low grade mines, in which the ratio of white to colour'"! labour shall be fixed, the strike to be called off, the men returning to work as j soon as the condition of the various mines justifies a resumption of operations; the ! abolition of the contract system; the re- | organising of underground work to bo ! settled by a conference or board of refer- | once. The conference adjourned to enable both sides to consider the projrosals. i When the conference again met in the ! afternoon the chairman’s proposals w’ere rejected by both parties, and the conference terminated without any result being reached. ’ | LETTER FROM GENERAL SMUTS. CAPETOWN, January 27. General Smuts, in a letter to the' Cham- ; her of Industries and to the Men’s Eede- i ration on the breakdown of the confer- ! once, emphasises the necessity of saving the low grade mines. He declares that the isme is not the colour bar, which is established on statutory regulations and which has never been either attacked or threatened and does not rest on a status quo agreement, which would be a private agreement between the chamber and the federation. The issue is how to save the low grade mines (which means more than j half the mining industry) from extinction at an early' date. General Smuts appeals 1 for reasonableness on both sides, urging them to approach the dispute in a spirit of give and take. He state. 3 that the j Government proposes to do its utmost to ass: t either or both of the parties in the

effort to secure a settlement, and It hopes that- nothing will be left undone to at tain this end.