COAL STOCKS

Waikato Times, Volume 131, Issue 21834, 15 September 1942, Page 2

COAL STOCKS

DELIVERIES CEASE NONE FOR PRIVATE CONSUMER “The position in regard to the private consumer is desperate,” said a leading coal merchant in Hamilton today. All stocks had been exhausted days ago and no coal deliveries would be possible until the mines resumed. Since last summer, the merchant pointed out, stocks had ; always been light and for months a system of rationing had been in operation, a system that necessarily involved greater utilisation of ben- j zine and tyres in that only one bag of coal at a time could be delivered among a merchant’s customers. With the cessation of output at the mines the small stocks held by merchants in the town had been insufficient to last more than a couple of days. Farmers, who used to lay in a good supply of coal, had been unable to do so in recent months, as a result of the rationing system, and they were in no better position than people in the town. Dairy Factory Supplies At the New Zealand Dairy Company’s factories supplies of coal are sufficient for several weeks, but, as Mr C. J. Parlane, the general manager, pointed out this morning, the position would soon become serious if the deadlock continued much longer. Stocks of coal at the two principal hotels are very short. It was stated that the position in one hotel was so serious that unless coal could be secured at once no guests could be received after Wednesday. One large boardinghouse has been without coal for three days, and has been using odd scraps of wood to keep the kitchen stoves in use. This establishment caters for about 50 people, most of them engaged in essential national work. The pro- | prietor was asked to cater for a further 25 next week-end, but he sees ; little prospect of being able to do so. “The position at the Waikato Hospital is bad, but not as bad as it might be,” said Dr. H. L. Gould, the medical superintendent, when questioned this morning. Dr. Gould explained that there were sufficient supplies of coal at the hospital for all reasonable needs for “a week or two,” but that meant drawing on the special reserves created as a war emergency. One boiler had had to be put out of action through inability ' to obtain supplies of kitchen coal. DISPUTE TRACED [ | MINISTER GIVES HISTORY L WELLINGTON, Monday ; In a statement tonight the Minister . of Mines, the Hon. P. C. Webb, traced . the history of the Waikato coal min--3 ing dispute. He said that owing to a shortage of truckers at Puke- , miro colliery an arrangement had J been entered into between the man- : agement and the union whereby any 1 miner who was required to do his own trucking would be paid 26s 6d a shift, in addition to any earnings 1 he could make by hewing coal at - contract rates. J This practice continued for some t time, said the Minister, but in August - the union executive decided that ) four pairs of miners should not be ) permitted to continue doing their ) own trucking. As the mine man--1 ager had additional labour available ; at that time truckers were put on to 2 do the trucking work. In normal l conditions this should hav.e en--3 abled the miners to increase their , production, but the’reverse happened and it was contended by the mine ~ management that the four pairs of 1 miners referred to actually curtailed " their outputs to such an extent that they failed to earn the minimum - wage provided for in the agreement. 3 ! Pay Ticket Deficiency 2 The Minister said that the matter - evidently came to a head on Wednesday. September 2, when the pay tickets were issued to the Pukemiro miners in the ordinary way before e pay day. These tickets showed r that the miners concerned had not 0 had their pay made up to the mini- _ mum wage. On the following morn- _ ing at a mine-mouth meeting the Pukemiro miners decided not to ref sume work until the management r first agreed to meet their claims, a The district executive of the I Northern Miners’ Union the same s evening resolved by seven votes to i one to recommend the Pukemiro i branch to resume work, but the t Pukemiro miners refused to accept - this advice. Stop-work meetings . were held at other mines in the v Huntly field on the same morning, j when the miners decided by 779 votes to 209 votes to confirm the _ action of the executive. Advice to Resume 3 On the morning of Monday, September 7, the miners were again advised by the district executive to resume work, but again refused to do so and the next day, for some inexplicable reason, all the miners in the Huntly field ceased work in sympathy with the Pukemiro men. Since then the miners had been advised by their own national organisation and the Federation of Labour to resume r work and allow the dispute to be settled in the constitutional manner, a but all without avail. A secret U ballot was taken last Friday and e again the decision of the miners in v accordance with their own rules v was against continuance of the S strike. i Accordingly the miners were ad- - vised by their district executive to s resume work this morning, but with e the exception of the Wilton mine at i Glen Massey and the State mine at a Mangapehi the miners refused to - start work. s “It must be clear to all that there 3 was no justification for the action of e the men. Their refusal can only be s interpreted as a challenge to the e State/’ said the Minister.