COAL STOPPAGES IN AUSTRALIA

Southland Times, Issue 25763, 29 August 1945, Page 5

COAL STOPPAGES IN AUSTRALIA

Industry Seriously Affected

(Special Australian Correspondent, N.Z.P.A.)

(Rec. 7 p.m.) SYDNEY, August 27. While the National Convention. of Miners is meeting in Sydney to “set a course for a new deal for the coalfields,” strikes at New South Wales collieries are seriously affecting Australian industry. An appeal on Friday by the Miners’ Federation general secretary, Mr G. W. Grant, to miners throughout Australia for an allout production drive to bring coal stocks back to normal was ignored by the 3000 miners who were idle at nine pits yesterday. The mines idle included some of Australia’s biggest and 10,000 tons of badly needed coal was lost. Last week the loss was 50,000 tons. Inter-State leaders of the Miners’ Federation are gravely perturbed at the stoppages, which, as the Minister of Supply, Senator H. P. Ashley put it, have resulted in Australia being held to ransom. In New South Wales railway services have already been reduced, and severe rationing is likely in all essential industries. Because of the shortage of coal from New South Wales, supplies to industrial plants in Victoria have been cut to approximately one-third of the normal requirements. Some industries have not operated for a fortnight, and others have such low coal stocks that their closing is imminent. NATIONALIZATION DISCUSSED At the Miners’ Convention (which was held in camera) the nationalization of mines was discussed. The convention also discussed a proposal that the Federal Government be asked to buy coal on contract from colliery proprietors for the next five years at a price sufficient to enable owners to guarantee continuity of employment to the miners. To the man in the street some of the miners’ strikes have seemed unreasonable, to say the least, but on northern fields last week there was something new in stoppages. At the Stockrington colliery pit top workers, who are day wage men, went home after the miners had gone below. They threw the mine idle in a protest against “unjustifiable strikes” by contract men and their disregard of the day wage men, who had no opportunity to make up pay lost in strikes. The diversification industry on the coalfields is planned by the Commonwealth under decentralization. A policy will be deliberately pursued to introduce into the coalfields interests other than those of mining. The Prime Minister, Mr J. B. Chifley, pointed out that with only one avenue offering for employment a man either had to enter the mining industry and devote the rest of his life to mining, or leave the community. Yet there were men who, because of their physical-condition or for other reasons, were unable to undertake mining. Similarly, in such communities there was no demand for female labour, and girls had to leave their homes to get work.