GOAL STRIKE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 September 1920, Page 5

GOAL STRIKE.

STATE MINE IDLE. "UP AGAINST TROUBLE." (STATEMENT BY THE PREMIER. (By Wire.—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. "This sort of thitig cannot possibly continue," said the Prime Minister in the House to-day when informing members that the men employed at the State mine had stopped work again. "I believe that it would be better to face the trouble and have it over than allow this state of affairs to continue. As far as I am concerned I am prepared to face it. If the men now employed at the mines will not produce coal in proportion to their numbers then some other means must be found of procuring coal for the people." Mr. Massey believed that the Dominion was up against trouble at the coal mines, and that the people would not put up with the present (Conditions any longer. It had been reported to the Government that the miners had adopted their present policy because conscientious o'bjeotori ware kept in the prisons. There were, however, no con-, scientious objectors in prison now; all these men had been released after serving their sentences, which the Government had reduced by six months. He did not say that there were no d'coerters in the prisons of the country at present; deserters were quite a different class of people'. : 'The Minister of Defence endorsed the statement that there were no conscientious objectors .still in prison. There were fourteen military offenders in prison. Three of them were serving sentences for criminal offences, and the others had been defaulters or deserters. Mr. H. E. Holland , (Buller) asked if Mr. Massey had exact information as to the cause of the stoppage at the State mine. 1 The Prime Minister replied that he had just been reading a document bearing on the point. An official statement was to the effect that the stoppage was connected with the Broken Hill levy. Trouble had been reported last week at the Blackball mine on account of two blacksmiths who refused to pay this levy. The telegram he had received from . the inspector of factories for the district was as follows: "State mine idle in agreement with irritation policy of four days fortnightly; the ostensible reason is the Broken Hill levy." Mr. Massey added that he knew no more about the matter at the moment.

THE WAIKATO STRIKE. MINERS' EXECUTIVE. MEET. : NO DECISION ANNOUNCED. By TelWDh.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The executive of the Miners' Federation sat in Wellington to-day to consider what action should be taken in connection with the Waikato coal mine strike. Mr. J. Arbuckle, secretary of the Federation, informed a reporter that no decision of the executive was yet available for publication. 1

CONCILIATION PROPOSED. STATEMENT BY PREMIER. Wellington, Last Night. In the House of Representatives today, replying to Mr. W. E. Parry (Auckland Central), Mr. Massey said he proposed to send a Conciliation Commissioner to Auckland, and probably to Huntly, to endeavor to settle the coal trouble in the north.

LOSS BY STRIKERS. HOW THE MEN SUFFER. Auckland, Last Night. • Iu the course of a reply to the statement made by the Huntly Miners' Union last week concerning the coal mine Strike in, the Waikalo, the Hon. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the Taupivi Coal Mines, Ltd., stated that during the last working year, which ended on August 27, the Pukemiro Co.'s mine was worked on 254 days. There were 14 mine holidays, 10 days were lost through strikes, one and a half were lost through shortage of waggons, half a day as a result of a breakdown of machinery, three days owing to lack of explosives, and three days on account of the railway strike. The total number of shifts' worked was 10,466, and the total earnings of the miners was £16,641 19s, an average of 20s 21d a day for each man. This includes the period during which the miners' goslow policy was in operation. Assuming that the men had worked 270 days at normal pressure at the present rates they would each have averaged 30s a day, with an average for the year of £405 a man. Of 170 men employed by the compny only some 27 per cent are affected hv railway fares when travelling to and from work. The Taupiri Mines, Ltd., employs a total of 420 men at its mines, 280 at the Extended mine, and 140 at Roto'waiju, and only some 00 of these travel by train to their work. The average wages earned is 27a 5d a day for hand men, and 31s 4d for machine men.