MINING TROUBLE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 412, 22 January 1909, Page 5

MINING TROUBLE.

MATTERS LOOK-BLACKER THAN EVER SECRET MEETINGSMINISTER FOR MINES TO VISIT HUNTLY. Cut TEiioiurn—rnsss assooutios.) ~.. .. , , Huntly, January 21. > INO altoration ; has taken place in. the situa. ■ ;tioh at ; Huntly:''-Narrowed' down, the pre* ' ' sent. position 'is that the company 'will not ; * not' give wayi'and the : ' . four alleged - declare that they ■ will not resign: The latter contingency was looked upon as the last hope of a solution of the', trouble, consequently matters look • blacker thanever. Three, of the alleged ''Uacjdegs^;ph : . being interviewed, "• com- - plained somewhat bitterly of. the treatment . accordqd-to-.them Jiy~;.tlie. miners'. :Tr;., -:: fact, ; :name|y::that-: there: iS"a jgrowing: tendency ou the part ;of the'minority to favour a return to work. It is stated by those who profess to know that secrot meetings aro being held nightly of men who differ from the point of view that keeps'the men'out on strike. Itis also stated that ware a: secret ballot to be held the result would be'a return to work to-morrow. .News; has bqon .received that the-Minister ■ for Mines will'be here'' to-morrow night, and the. Prime Minister' has telegraphed to the; union-expressing regret that the troublo is still unsettled, and urging the men* to avuil themselves of Mr. M'Kenzio's counsel and . end-the trouble. -.■• Meantime, beyond a to-day, dur- ' ing. whioh, two of the alleged "blacklegs'" homes were visited and mild demonstrations made outside, nothing of an active nature has occurred. , To-night Messrs. Davis and Long, repre- . senting-iha Auckland waterside workers and the Trades and Labour Council respectively,. • .arrived, at Huntly, and had a long conference , ' with the union executive.. Strict, secrecy was observed' as to .what'transpired.'i*t' the con- .. .ference,; from-■' which .press . representatives .' ' .were.excludcdi.,. .. :• ■ The Taiipiri Cpmpanyj in . preparation for a lengthy ...inaction,-lias withdrawn the three I ho;rsey,used, : for .'.hauling; "purpqses. underground.;,',;';', 'v-.-V --V'- : ,r : : AUCKLAND'S COAL SUPPLY. • Auckland, January 21. -.'."While the closing of: the; Taupiri. mine is bound to'cause, inconvenienco,-it is'-not ex-,, pect'rid ;that'_there will be, any.'.actual short-.' age of coal in v Auckland.' When; th 4" trouble , first commenced there was a bit of a scare, ' , 'and - [this enabled""large stocks; of. coke to. be , readily ' disposed' 0f.,,:- The. possibility of- the ■■■ mines being closed for some time-also, caused.:, orders'.to be 'dispatched at.'on'ce.tft Newcastle for: supplies, and at the present time there . are • some , 9000. tons either on the way or under order for .prompt dispatch-to Auck- ,. land.- In'addition to this, the coal-mines in the north are working full time, and : supplies ■■ are also available from'the mines in the South Island. . "Instead of a scarcity of coal," remarked . r .a director of one local, coal company when - questioned: this; morning; '.'it seems to me that ■ there is"every probability, of tlie market being : i glutted in the near future." . - : -Tho seriousness of the position (says' tho special correspondent of , the Auckland "Herald") now that the deadlock, is to con- ' tinue is apparent.. The exact number of men • employed Sy!- : the -Taupiri-.Company is 375, exclusive:-'of'-'official.* 'Many or these men . ; haye .large .families fo support. At tho end of. this .week' i ;tliey will 'nave been a fortnight. •' out of work, exclusive of" the Christmas and '' N&v Year holidays, which 'means that £2000 ■ , .which; should have been received iii the shape of .wages, and which would have been largely in circulation here, is' not to be forthcoming. Trade naturally, suffers. It may be added . that-' if -the .Taupiri '.mine is. flooded it will N : take three or four months to unwater again. . . IS IT"A STRIKE? i" ; 'The. l question 'as ;the action of the : menv-is'> a,- strike, and- should be. dealt ' ' witli'as such, is an important one. Opinion", i was." sought'oh :.the point, yesterday. Mr. AV. Greufell.' secrotary j of ' the Wel- : Jingto'n Employers - ' Association,' considers . that, if-the" men,'who are how.'on..strike can, .be'^considered".'employees' of the company, . ' then their, action in. refusing to. return toy: wprk;:is,; , a',' s i tisi:e', and^-theyshould be dealt with'.';ac(>6'riing4o: : *the : amended . Act . of,last' sessi6h;.(mliich. aV strike a continuing :. offehceV. -. 'The^pomt: seemed; to'_ turn on • areunionists or. ; whether, thfcy have ceased-: to become so (in the ; the,'union) - by; submitting to tho medical examination. Lit is certain that they hafe "conve : to' he regarded as ' "blacklegs'' ; by ,-taking ; the- ndvioe of the Prime Minister. ' ■ If ' they. " have become noil-unionists -tlie - .miners': are 'nr. the' wrong, ■< ."and" even if they be : genuine ; :non-unionists the unionists are in the wrong ■ becjjuAej. n'c'coi;d)n<* jto the preference clause Mif'thq which .they .work, the ' > •"coiripanies aro only • bound not to take nonso - long "as unionists are ."ready .and- willing to undertake it," which-thoy-li'ere.not'Vheu'the,four men in question were taken on. . , , v .= . . ""ffia"afteomeht-'-ttttteihiiig th«';prcforence .• elauso was made between the"ATaikato Coal- ; miners' Industrial Union of Workers and the Taupipi and -"Union;, collieries in Marchj. 1907. , ; This'.wais'mado an award.in-May of. tHe samo • year/: and:continues .in-force until; April 1 of. ' .'this' ycar;:.. ; ;Tliis .award ;contains tho followirig preference clause:— So long as tho rules of the. union shall .per- , vmitj' any.person ;of, good character and sober ■ - habits -nqfeemployed as a coal-miner in this ... •• • person'- now re- . sidingorV who may: hereafter reside in this ;■'. indu'stfial •district .of good character ' •and' sober,'habiU, and,;Nvhq.-.iV ' : a. cqfnpetont ■ worker, .to ibecomti member of .0 . union' upon payment of. an entrance, fee not'.exceeding ss. , of subsequent contributions, whpther payable -weekly- 6r\.not, not ■ exceedmg ,6d. pe! - weekj' upon a .-written .application of tho pqiv : sbn.so'aesinng.to.ODin-'thol.union, .. :. v then . V,:,,i;: t: :; ei!iployqrs, ;shall t employ. member! ■ of tho union in preference to . non-members, : provided,, that-: there- are rmembers■ of tlu union equally qualified; with non-members to perforin tho ..particular'.work required to_ be... . ;done, and ready and willing to;undertake it.'':: •I 'i : . ANOTHER 1 POINT-OF VIEW. ' 'SpeaKiiig "tof" a ''gentleman'-' who, ' thougS,. not. a ihember..of'. tho': legal' profe'saioh, has a knowledge of industrial law which gives con-, • siderable;.weight" to':*his opinions,' a Dominion ■ reporter raised., the,:.question whether the . ,Hnntly. miji'ers; i are guilty of a strike under. i th;e -'Arbitralibn "Ac{i S The reply was'. in tho negative',"oh:the 'ground, that wlien the men refused to go to work until their demands were complied v?itli : they were 1 not in the employ of the mining companv. Thoyhad all . been given notice before the' holidays, and .those who submit to tion wore to be'.re-eugagedj: but: with: the ex- . coption of four.'they ' were not,: as ;a ; , matter : of fact, examined .or .re-ongaged. They_nre, therefore; it* was'contended, in the. position of inen holding out for certain terms in a . now", employment .'which they contemplated entering, and there could, therefore, be no question of a strike. The reporter pointed out that according to the . Arbitration Amendment Act, .1908, a strikers tho act of workers, "who are or have been: in the,^"employment;", but 1 , it was stated in ; . reply-: that .it is ; thoir act :ih (a) discontinuing-, their employment, (b) brooking their contracts of .service,or ,(c) refusing l to resume,'their employriient "after any such dis■continuanco." 1 . epntonded. that '-neither "(a) hbr''(b);applied'Where, aB in tho present 'case, tho discontinuance was tho ast of the " employers, while'tho insertion of, the word "such" before ''discontinuance": made (c) equally'inapplicable. . .. Inquirios mado in official quarters failed to elicit any statoment as to tho Governi ment'si intentions in regard to tho mining trouble, at,Huntly. „