COAL SHORTAGE

Southland Times, Issue 18932, 20 September 1920, Page 4

COAL SHORTAGE

SERIOUS POSITION AT AUCKLAND. TRAMWAY EMPLOYEES GIVEN NOTICE. CURTAILMENT OF SHIPPING SERVICE. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, September 18. Owing to the strike at the Waikato mines the coal position in Auckland is becoming more serious every day. The City Council to-day gave a week’s notice to all tramwaymen, as the stocks of coal in sight are only sufficient to last for that period. The Council, however, hopes that supplies will come to hand in time to render such a drastic course as stopping the tram service unnecessary. The supplies of coal for electricity are only sufficient to last for a few days longer than those for the tram service. There was a fairly general rumour round Auckland this morning that a strike of all the miners in the dominion was imminent owing to the trouble at Huntly, but a correspondent at Wellington, telegraphing this morning, says the rumour that a dominion coal strike was to be declared on Monday next proves to be unfounded. It probably originated in consequence of the executive of the Miners’ Federation deciding to meet in Wellington on Monday to discuss the Huntly trouble. He understands that there are good prospects of this dispute being speedily settled. Owing to the coal shortage the Northern Steamship Ship Company has been compelled to cut down its sailing list for next week. The runs affected are Paeroa, Mangapai, and the Far North, but it is probable that other services will be affected later on.

WAIKATO MINERS’ STRIKE.

REPLY TO THE UNION,

AUCKLAND, September 17.

A reply to the statement issued on Thursday on behalf of the Huntly Miners’ Union was made by Mr E. S. Wight, managing director of the Pukemiro Collieries, Ltd. Mr Wight said he was pleased to know that the company had no dispute with its men, and he endorsed the statement by Mr Lindwall, secretary to the Union, and Mr Smith, a member of the Rotowaro branch of the Union, that the cessation of work at the mines was owing to a dispute between the Railway Departmen tand the Union. With reference to the statement (hat the Pukemiro township was three miles from the mine, and the road was one of the worst it was possible to imagine, Mr Wight said the extreme distance was II miles, and it could be walked in from 20 to 25 minutes. There was a well-formed footpath all the way, which had been metalled and covered with ashes. It became a little “sloppy" in places in bad weather, but improvements were being effected all the lime. The Union representatives said that 40 per cent, of the workers resided at the township, and the balance at Huntly. The correct figures were 27 per cent, living in Huntly. As had been stated before, the company was prepared to carry on without this quota, but many of them had preferred working at Pukemiro owing to the better pay and conditions prevailing there. It was admitted by Messrs Lindwall and Smith that many miners own their own homes at Pukemiro. Mr Wight said that to enable the miners to do this the company surveyed the township and sold quarter acre, sections at £3O each, and also assisted the workers with monetary loans to build. Tice availed themselves of this opportunity. The purchase of land for the township, the survey of sections, and formation and dedication of streets had cost the company a great deal more money than the sale of sect ions would ever produce. The company had provided twenty houses, and had three more in course of construction. There were also six comfortable “batch” huts for single men built in the early days of the company. In addition to this the lessors surveyed the entire property into farmlets, which had been acquired by workers and houses had been built on them. In regard to the allegations that a fair percentage of boy? were travelling by train \ and working for 5s a day, Mr Wight said ! that at Pukemiro the lowest wage paid to any boy from 14 to 15 year? old was 7s 44 | a day, and at this rate there were only two, both of them living at Pukemiro. The next highest rale was 8s Gd a day for boys from 15 to 16 years old, and boys of that age working under ground were paid 10s a day. Only a month ago, Mr Wight added, a

new scale of payments came into operation which made coal hewers' general average earnings for the fortnight ended August 27 30 (Qd per man per shift. The lowest average for a pair of men for the fortnight was 23s 7cl per man per shift, and the highest 40s Hid.