WEST COAST MINES

Otago Witness, Issue 4039, 11 August 1931, Page 24

WEST COAST MINES

MINERS’ ATTITUDE CRITICISED LACK OF CONTINUITY OF SERVICE. WELLINGTON, August 6. The Government’s refusal to raise the duty 7 against imported coal until greater continuity of service was assured by the coal miners on the west coast of the South Island was announced by the Minister of Railways (Mr W. A. Veitch) in the House of Representatives to-day while speaking on the Budget debate. If the position on the coast did not improve in the near future, he added, it would raise a serious outlook for the coal mines there and for the coal industry in the Dominion.

“ The difficulty of getting coal from the West Coast is due to the lack of continuity of service given by the miners there,” the Minister said. He had been responsible at one time for the administration of the portofolio of Mines, and had then discovered that the State Coal Mines account suffered heavily by the men walking out without notice and without justification. He did not re- i call the exact figure, but he remembered it to be in the vicinity of £3OO a day. When the overhead costs, including interest and the salaries of those officers not on strike were considered, this loss, which had to be made up by the Coal Mines account, meant dearer coal to every wage earner in the Dominion who bought State coal. The Government had also experienced difficulty at Westport, where the dispute between the leaders of two coal organisations had been skilfully laid at the door of the waterside workers on the railway there. Mr Holland: There was no dispute. Mr Veitch said that practically every individual in the electorate of the Labour Leader had suffered through this hold-up, and he advised Mr Holland to I use his platform oratory and ability as a leader to induce the miners to cease destroying the coal industry in this country. So far the Labour Leader had not raised a w 7 ord of protest against the policy of the miners in holding up the industry. On account of the competition with Australian coal, unless the costs of production of coal on the West Coast •were reduced, the West Coast miners were going to be in a very serious position. In fact, so far as he was able to judge, it would be impossible to compete with Australian coal.

Mr W. P. Endean (Parnell): Does the exchange not help us? Mr Veitch went on to suggest that the owners of mines and the miners themselves should endeavour to arrange a method of bringing about continuity of service in an economic and rational

way. If this were done, and if a case could be stated to convince the House that protection should be given to New Zealand coal as against Australian coal he felt sure that Parliament would be willing to lend a sympathetic ear. In the meantime the Government could not justify the payment of an import duty on Australian coal to meet the cost of the unsatisfactory service from the miners of the West Coast. There appeared to be no such disability in the other New Zealand mines. “ The problem is a serious one,” the Minister continued, “and unless it is dealt with by those who are able to bring wiser counsels into it, I feel we cannot look for any improvement in the quantity or cost of production of coal from the West Coast mines.” DOBSON MINE. MEN TAKE A HOLIDAY. GREYMOUTH, August 6. The Dobson miners took a holiday today as a protest against the manner in which an insurance company dealt with a compensation claim by a miner. The mine owners were not involved. Work will be resumed to-morrow.