COAL MADE TOO DEAR

Taranaki Daily News, 10 June 1932, Page 5

COAL MADE TOO DEAR

CEMENT COMPANY'S TRIALS. A CO-OPERATIVE COLLIERY. The difficulties that had been experienced with the miners in operating the company’s coal mine at Hikurangi were referred to by Sir George Elliot, chairman of directors, at the annual meeting of shareholders of Wilsons (N.Z.) Portland Cement, Ltd., at Auckland on Wednesday. Sir George said that in 1920, owing to the then great difficulty in obtaining coal for Portland, the company purchased the mine from the Northern Coal Company, Ltd., and for some years coal was won at a reasonable cost, although even in the early days there was a tendency on the part of the men to take up the attitude that the cement works must have the coal and would pay any price for it. Costs began ; to rise and month by month grew higher, operating the mine was punctuated by strike after strike for trivial reasons and notwithstanding frequent conferences with the miners, in which the directors did everything possible to meet their demands, the policy of reduced output and increasing cost made Waro coal the dearest in the market. Finally, the miners were warned that unless they discontinued their irritating tactics the company had no option other than to close the mine and accept cheaper coal supplies which were freely offering. Sir George referred to the strike at the mine last August, when the safety men were withdrawn by the union and the company’s staff had to save what they could of the pumping plant. After strenuous work this was accomplished without any help of the miners, who then became aware that the company no longer desired their services, as coal could be obtained cheaper from other mines.

Miners and others in the district then recognised as the result of their strike that cessation of work at the mine meant, within a few weeks, the abandonment of the whole Hikurangi field and the complete ruin of the Hikurangi township. The company declared it could no longer economically * work the mine under the tiresome conditions imposed by the miners’ union, but offered the mine and plant, without any charge whatever, to a co-operative party for a period of one year, agreeing to take 800 tons a week of coal at a given price and to loan the party £lOOO for preliminaries, repayable by a deduction of Is a ton on coal received.

“The Waro Co-operative Colliery, Ltd., operated by the men’s leaders, accepted the company’s offer and have carried on work ever since, quite to our satisfaction,” said Sir George. “Negotiations are at present pending for a renewal of the existing agreement, so that, presumably, the men are satisfied.”