Communists Rebuffed On The Coal Fields; Few Mines Stop Work

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 May 1950, Page 5

Communists Rebuffed On The Coal Fields; Few Mines Stop Work

SYDNEY, May 4, Recd 7.15 pm).— Communists on the New South Wales coalfields were soundly rebuffed today in attempts to bring about a one-day general stoppage by the miners as a protest against the anti-Communist Bill Official returns show that 64 mines out of a total of 155 in New South Wales stopped work for the day for a production loss of 29,000 tons. Ninety-one mines working are expected to produce about 31,000 tons. It is believed that the rank and file of the miners are unlikely to support a general strike. In Victoria, the 'Vonthaggi mine, which is the largest in the State, is working, but the men

decided to cease work for 24 hours on a date to be fixed. Difference of opinion was sharply defined by a motion endorsed by the miners’ lodge at Wallerawang, In Western New South Wales, which read: "We decide on a protest stoppage, not against the Communist party being banned, but against the iniquitous wording of the anti-Com-munist Bill.” This is understood to refer to the clause requiring persons declared to be Communists to prove their innocence At Burwood, Australia's largest producer, the miners went to work after a pithead meeting despite the fact that local lodges are Communistcontrolled.