Miners Vote For Return To Work

Chronicle (Levin), 20 July 1949, Page 5

Miners Vote For Return To Work

FURTHER SETBACKS FOR MILITANTS • Received Tuesday, 11 p.m. •;/ . SYDNEY, July 19. At miners' lodge meetings of Furlewis and Gunnedah held at Gunnedah today, a motion was carried in favour of a tetum to work by 50 votes to 4. - Gunnedah and Ourlewis are both about 150 miies northwest of Newcastle. The totai output per day of the two mines is 400 tons. The motion stated that a protest against a continuance of the strike should he forwarded to .the North ern District of the Miners' Federation. The motion aiso requestecl that aggregate meetings be held l)y all lodges to vote on a return to work and a Settlemeiit of the miners' eiaims by arbitration.

Furtlier sctbacks for tlie militants . are recorded from several fronts tliis al'ternoon. Tlie Commuuists have, lrist e.ont.rol of the Federal Oouneil of the Watersidc. Workors 7. Federation as the result of elections " throughout Australla just completed. There tvili now be 11'moderates aud 10 Communists or Commuuist supporters on the council. The militants dominated the pfevious council bv 10 to 9. Of two new seats in this election, representing Sydnev and Tasmania respee.tively, one went to a militant and the other to a moderate. The militants elected comprise five from Svdney, three from Queensland, Mr. J. Healy (secretary) aird Mr. E. Roacb ('assistant seeretary). Every other State elected moderates. The first official report of a crack in the miners \ front iu New South Wales came today from Singleton, nnrth of Newcastle, wliere, after a Labour Partv meeting, the local miriers decidcd to inform the Combined M'ining TJnions7 Council that they would hold a meeting

on Thnrsday to demand the calling of aggregate meetings on the strike issne. The miners added thttt tjiey difl not intend the mnve as a break from the Mniers' Federation. The actinef genefal president of the Miners ' Federation, Mr. R. Hamilton, said today tliat any anggestioii that the purpose of tomorrow7s meetings of miners was td test the feeliitg towards a settlement, was rnerely wnshful thinking. Their purpose wae mefesly tcf consolidate the position. ' "The miners' meetings will eertainly ftot mean the end of the coal strike, 77 said the president of the Nortliern exeeutive of the Miners7 Federation. Mr. W. Crook. "It is true that the meetings eotild mahe recwrimeftdation". to fhe Combined Mitiing Uniotis7 Council. but. We expect fhc reeomTtiendatipfi "tvili be f">r a continuation of the strike. We are going to explain the jljit.rtof developmcnts and report progresS.- 7 ' 1 Mr. Cruok is a militant Anstralian i Labour Party supporter but is considj ered anti-Communist,