IDLE COAL MINE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21217, 13 September 1940, Page 4

IDLE COAL MINE

While most of the essential industries of New Zealand are making a commendable effort to meet the needs of the war situation, there is still something wrong in some of the coal mines. The MacDonald mine at Huntly is again idle. At ordinary times there may be something in the argument that arrangements between mine owners and workers are of private concern, but in the present circumstances, adequate production of coal is a serious national concern in which all industries and every man and woman are vitally interested. As far as the public knows, the mine is idle because of a dispute over the “ wet-time ” payment to one man, but from the wider point of view the cause of the dispute is of little moment. What does matter is that New Zealand is at war, and if coal mines are allowed to become idle at frequent intervals the country’s productive capacity will suffer. If an injustice is being done to one man it should not be difficult to provide a remedy. If the miners are using their collective bargaining power improperly, that is very unfortunate for New Zealand, and the discovery of a remedy is a far more difficult matter. Not so long ago the New Zealand coal industry was reduced to such a condition that rationing became necessary, railway services had to be curtailed and industrial and private consumers of coal were subjected to inconvenience and loss of efficiency. Appeals by the Government had some effect, and there has been a definite improvement in the production of coal. Two hundred men at the MacDonald mine have done Very little work in the past ten days and the whole problem has been opened up afresh. The wider issues are as plain as a pikestaff. Coal is needed for national industry and it is not being hewn. At what point has the machinery broken down ? Some have suggested State ownership and operation of the mines as a remedy, but the fallacy of that policy is proved by the fact that stoppages of work are probably more frequent in State mines than in any other. There is adequate arbitration machinery for the settlement of such minor disputes, and unless both parties to an agreement are satisfied to abide by the decisions of such tribunals the future of the coal industry in New Zealand will be no brighter than its past. What other method can be suggested ? If the simple problem of payment to one man for “ wet-time ” is submitted to a tribunal representing both parties, it is a tragic state of affairs if a satisfactory settlement cannot be reached without the necessity of rendering hundreds of men idle and jeopardising the efficiency of the coal-consuming industries.