MINE CONDITIONS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VI, Issue 1787, 5 November 1919, Page 7

MINE CONDITIONS.

LIFE OF THE WORKERS. NOT SO BAD AS PAINTED. [From Our . Own Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, November 5. A rosy picture of the coal-miner's lot is painted by the Minister of Mines. (Hon. Sir William Fraser) in the Mines Statement, which was laid on the table of the House of Representatives to-day. This is the quotation regarding the occupation of coalmining : "There exists a general, but erroneous, impression that it is dismal, unhealthy, and extremely arduous in this Dominion. This assumption is incorrect. The thickness of the coal seams generally obviates the necessity of working in cramped positions, and likewise permits of adequate ventilation, which is superior, generally, to that in factories. The proportion of deaths from fatal accidents during the past three years has been less than 14 per 1000 persons employed, cornering favourably with that in any other country. "The facility by which coal may be mined in New Zealand is proved by the official statistics regarding output during 1917. The output per person employed underground was 715 tons, as against 306 tons for the United Kingdom during the same period. The average earnings of coal-miners are probably as high as those prevailing in any other country, and, during the period of the- War, such wages have increased to a greater extent than have food prices. At the principal collieries, the average net daily earnings per fortnightly pay, taken over a period of several months, were approximately: Coal-hewers, 17/- to 24/-; truckers, 18/-; boys, 13/-; and deputies, £4 to £4 10/- per week. "Under the Coal Mines Act the dav's work is limited to eight hours from the time of entering the mine to the time of departure therefrom. Thus, travelling time, also that taken for a meal, is included in the daily shift. A coal-miner may obtain a home at a low rental, or, if he so desires, he may build for himself, by the aid of a loan from the Government. For two successive years, a Kaitangata colliery trucker has, from his quarter-acre section, produced roses which pained the champion prize at the Dunedin flower show, one of the principal shows in the Dominion.

"At all colliery townships, coal is supplied to miners at a purely nominal charge. At the State Collieries, the charge is 3/4 per ton. It will thus be seen that the coalminer's life has many attractions, and admits of a person of provident disposition saving enough money to enable him' eventually to buy land or to take up a lighter occupation for bis advancing years. "I have dwelt upon this subject at some length, hoping to remove the prevailing erroneous impression regarding the life of the coal-miner, and thus to encourage young men to dive this lucrative occupation a fair trial, one of the most serious questions facing the Dominion at present being how to overcome the shortage of coal-miners."