RENOWN MINE STOPPAGE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 August 1931, Page 9

RENOWN MINE STOPPAGE

DEMANDS OF THE MEN. STRONG COMMENT AROUSED. -“The;;Miners’ Union is asking- something which is not only impracticable, but' outside the jurisdiction of the Renown Collieries. The demand made by the men is most unfair and inhuman to the outside worker,” eaid Mr.' W. D. Holgate, president- of the New Zealand. ..Coal Mine Owners’ Association',' on Thursday in referring to the dispute which has rendered the Renown Mine at RotovVaro; and its 180 employees idle since last Monday; Mr.'Holgate stated that a meritingof. the northern members of ;±he.association,, would be held ' to ■ consider. .ilie/.position./ " ' • : << '■' 7

The' men ceased work because they were not granted a demand that outsiders should not be employed in dumping slack coal. The demand originated with 15 men working at : the screens, who considered that the work should be kept for them so that, they might make up short time.

“The Renown Company has no control over the slack after it leaves the screens, ’’ said Mr. Holgate. “At that stage it becomes the property of Waikato Carbonisation, Limited, of which I am chairman. This cpmpany.ieither delivers; it to customers, orif there is immediate market, dumps it?,; For this work we use outside casual labour.

■ “The union knows perfectly, well that slack cannot be held up in trucks until the mine is not working, simply to suit the convenience of union- members. In the first place, there are not facilities- for. holding the. trucks, and if there were, demurrage would be charged by the Railway Department. 1 “Most of the men engaged by Waikato Carbonisation, Limited, for. handling: the slack are casual workers who, like the miners, have wives and families, to keep. They are far Worse-off than the,(miners, and are exceedingly glad of even two days’- work a week. In every way they are just as much entitled to employment. It would appear, according to the union’s idea of the position, that unless a man is a miner dr on the coal company’s payroll, he and his family may starve. ‘Tt is a common practice for the miners to complain about the short time worked in the Waikato mines, but they do not stop to consider that when they close a mine in this way it is quite possible that the company concerned may lose a certain amount of trade on account of the. keen competition between the cbaTcompanies. Such a loss of business of course means more short time for the miners.”