Amazing Tactics of Miners to Gain Power

Chronicle (Levin), 30 May 1946, Page 5

Amazing Tactics of Miners to Gain Power

Press Assn.

By Telearaph

-Copyright

SYDXKY. May 29. . !.' furning from his shift a liiiner t'c.i I his 1 ii nit s had been taken from ,m] 's bnlliroom. As the resiilt 1 1 0 l > ..i-Tii home and the daiiy oiiiput of 1- tous of coal was h.st. 1 : auother miiie ihe batlirooiu attend- (!' • . ho was a member of the Miners' 1 ''ti... a 1 i-in, warinu! liis mates that it' 'i left clothes in the batliroom over b «• I'ckend he would throw lliem out. I * lothes wcn' left and were duly ! :;t •eitside. Sixty iiu-n retiiseil work it'T ;; -O itins' of production was lost. M • -ii in anothei colliery w ho w ere re . :.4 inertinie for catering the mine were tohi that tliei'e was no furI need l'oi them to 'lo so. 'I'hey all v.fir home aud sdu tons of coal prot ; . ,u was forfeit ed. T >--e are uo isolated incidents. They :uc i in- examples of ihe behavionr of Xt-v. Suuth Wales miners toi oin' tlay « b 1 1 • n o wliich the loss in coal produe- ! '■•ni as below the averago. 1 ■ itlier niines in tio- Staie, men have "t 'i»ed work because on the way to ' h • mine they saw a poor *ohl liorse they thought was past work, be .''-.uce their showers wt-re too hot or Btt i nid, or because of incivility on the Ro! of batliroom a'tendanls who wero icin.bers of their own unions. Thr.se are not the actions of a group °f inclustrial prima donnas. They are Part of a well thought out play evolved by those in control of the pniners, P inerease their hargaining power. The PLn, which has worked perfectly for pithe.ui statesnjen if for nobody else, is to so hamper production that no in(litsti'y in Australia can huild up resserves of coal. This means, of course, that whenever miners threaten ' ' direct action," power failures will lollow T'ithin ti few hours and the autliorities I aif foiced-to meet the miners' demands.

I In -ixteen mouths ending - Api'i 1 3(1, I drikes on the lields eaused a protlue- ■ b"ri h>s- of 2,550,90(1 tons of coal val- ■ lii'd ,i £2,315,000. This eost the miners I I'lMaselves nearly £1,500.000 in wages I j"(t they count this as cheap in eompar- , ■ '"on with the gains aehieved. These ■ hains amouiif to nothing more tangiolej ■ thau ihe i'ac't that the eonnmmitv will ■

have to take orders from them or lose the power that turns the wheels of industry. Yictorian industry and the eity of Melbou rne are alreadv cripjdetl by the imjiosition of a drastic system of rationing Sytlnev has been liovering on the verge of a power faniiue for weehs. ll has taken a long time to uudermine ihe healtliy and -jiowerful coal industry but it will take longer still for it to ncover even if the disputcs are settletl tomorrow. The miniiuum requireinents for this year are 11,500.(.00 tons of coal aud the present rate of production indicates that little more tlian 2,00(1,000 tons will lenve the niines. There are 17,0(10 miners in New South Wales collieries but of these only a sinai I ]iercentage is responsiblp for the slowing of production, Vet the events of the jiast sixteen mouths have eost each miuer £s5 out of his personal pay cheek. "The owners have made us eat dirt long enough," says one miner. "Now we have the whip hand and we have got them where we want them. ' ' One wonders how long it will take the rank and file of the Miners' Federation to figure out where their real enemies are.