The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1906. N.S W. COLLIERY DIBPUTE.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11975, 19 September 1906, Page 4

The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1906. N.S W. COLLIERY DIBPUTE.

Thsbb will be a feeling of very general satisfaction throughout the colonies, and more particularly in New South Wales, that the Newcastle and Maitland colliery dispute, which a few days ago seemed likely to result in one of the most serious industrial battles recorded in Australia, is likely to be amicably settled Work has been resumed in the pits, and the conference of owners and miners' representatives met yesterday to arrange details of the 1 settlement. The strike, or lock-out, had for its object on the one hand the cessation of a practice in regard to hours of labour which the men view as intolerable, and, on the other, the determination of the

question of who is to rule the conditions of the industry. The real crux of the position is what is known as the "dog watch" difficulty, the men being determined on its abolition. The "dog watch" is the term applied to the third shift, on which the miners commence work at 11 o'clock at night, and their objections are on the score of health and comfort of the home. The miner has to get his rest during daylight hours, when the noise and bustle of domestic life is at ite highest. In a number of cases different members of the same family work in different shifts and the provision of meals for them consequently entails upon the housewife domestic cares over an unnecessarily long period. The effect of continuous working upon the sanitation of the mine is also advanced as a reason why the "dog watch" should be done away with, it being alleged that no opportunity is given for the purification of the atmosphere. In some instances recently miners working on the day shifts have refused to accept an equal division of pay with the members of the night shift. Under ordinary conditions the earnings of the six men who work in a board in the course of the twenty-four hours are pooled, and each man receives an equal share on pay day. The contention ia that the proportion of work done during the "dog watch" is, owing to the adverse conditions, so small that the monetary equality is unreasonable. In a general way the disinclination of the proprietors to accede to the miners' wishes was based on a plea that the abolition of the third shift would necessarily mean the limitation of the output to a point below that contemplated when existing contracts were made, and on that question, too, the miners join issue. They maintain that all that is necessary for . the expansion of the output ia a reasonable amount of development work in advance, and contend that the managements, by keeping the winning places all the time at the heels of the development, deliberately create the difficulty under which the miners are penalised. The agitation for cessation of the continuous system of working began several years ago. Early last year a meeting of the South Maitland miners was called to protest, but as the day fixed was pay Saturday there was aot a sufficient attendance. Last May another aggregate meeting was convened, this time on a back Saturday. The managers objected, on the ground that there was no need for the men to stop work for a day, when a pay Saturday was available for the meeting, and that view was endorsed by the federation to the extent that it was not officially represented at the meeting. There was an attendance of 1500 men, however, and the required resolution, giving three months' notice, was come to unanimously. It was then conveyed to the managers through the lodges, but no reply was given. Subsequently a "dog watch" committee was formed of representatives of each lodge interested, and through its instrumentality each lodge, when the three months "were up, simultaneously notified the manager that at the expiration of 14 days the men would refuse to work the third shift. That notice expired on Monday week last, when the men at several of the mines refused to work. The proprietors at first strongly resisted the demands of the men, and it was reported that they were determined to assert their mastery 'at all hazards. It was fully expected that the work would be stopped till Christmas, as the men were equally resolute. Wiser counsels have, however, prevailed. Negotiations were entered into between the proprietors and the miners, and the conference is still proceeding.