A GIFT OF £4000.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 679, 2 December 1909, Page 8

A GIFT OF £4000.

f ■' * — >— " »> DEMAND REFUSED. , I- \ . I THOUGH PROFIT HAS CEASED, MINERS SEEK AN INCREASE. . ' I . - I ' SIXTEEN SHILLINGS 'A DAY AT THE , PUBLIC'S EXPENSE. I 1 In a Supplementary Order Paper issued yes- ! - tarday a reply is given by the Prime Minister, 1, Sir Joseph Ward, to tho following question ;' recently put by tho Hon. A. R. Guinness; mem- > ber for Greyr— ' "What is the position at the Point Eliza"Beth. State Collieries, GTeymouth, wheTo somo s J IOO miners havo been on striko 6ince Mondaj • Jast (November 22); and will the Government : * |take tho "House into its confidence and 6tate what attitude the Government intends to take I -\ to bring,about a settlement of the dispute bot tween the Government and its employees?" Tho points of the Prnno MinistorVstatomont ' teay bo Bummansed as under.— ' r (t.) The Point Elizabeth Stale coal-mine ," ' has made no profit for the last six months, ami is not likely to do so in the near future. '/fji.) The Influx of more water needs fur- -* ther pumping machinery,' which will : "J' increased capital cost, (b) '" ' increased cost of production. J " . t i 3-) Trucking and jigging is done by the \ miners in every other colliery on the 'West Coast,' and if the State did the trucking and jigging for the State miners the extra cost to / the State would be £40110 per annum, {4.) The miners' present average wage is ' 14s. a day tor a seven-hours' shift, arid . ~ tho concession demanded would increase r it 'by 20 per cent, (say, to 16s. 9<5.)/ : ', (5.) This concession, if granied, must ', be paid by—(a) tho State (i.e., the peo- -. N pie as a whole),'or .(b) the consumers * 1 of coal. , (6.) The Government's alternative is to submit the demands to the Arbitration .' Court or the Conciliation Commissioner, ? ,•' The following is the Prime Minister's' reply I y in full (with non-essential, details'of the agreo- £ monts omitted) —The Government and tho \ management for the Statq collionos at Point E Elizabeth havo used every reasonable effort f to arrive at a settlement of the points in dist puto between tho mine-manager and tho oxocuL , live of tho Miners' Union. During tho past .15 months tho mine has been carried on under 1 an agreoment (nhich is given in full). All the questions m dispute had been settled boforo t tho strike took place between the union and f the manager, with tho exception of the men's < demand that the management''should'do all the trucking and Jigging. He continues: ( tinder the old agreement and under the lArbrtrabon'Court' awards, trucking and jigging lhave always been done by tho miners in tho ' Point Elizabeth Colliery, as well as in every , , loiher colliery on the West Coast. ' j To concede this demand would have involved ' an additional cost of about i£4ooo per annum, based on last year's output from tho mine. Tho mine during tho last working six months las made no profit, and/there is no immediate prospect of its doing so in tho near future. - In consequence 'additional influx of •Water further expensive machinery for pumping has become necessary, and is now, under order. This will involvo considerable outlay ( os well as increased cost of production. In new of these facts, the Government conv sidored it impossible to- accede to the miners' , request, as tho wages already earned by them— approximately 14s. per day, that 13 a shift of ■ seven hours—wero fair and reasonable, and could not be increased.except, at the expense ' of the public,or the consumers.- v ' Tho Government has always endeavoured to J place its employees> at' tho Stato 'collieries on ' as, good, if not better terms, than tho minors ! working in private employment. In proof of ] this, tho mino-manager advjses that tho terms 1 pf the old agreement aro admittedly, .better ' tttfiUibty! present Arbitration Court awards 1 141 1] existence, m other ..mines. ' > lit . The government-offered tho men 'iff'they 1 'would continue their work in the nunc under ' ,-' the old agreement, to submit any point in dis- i ' puta between the men and the manager 1 to the I Conciliation Commissioner or to the Court of . Arbitration. But, in view of the difficulties tho i ~ position presented, the Government could not agree to the miners' demands, efcept by a con- ] siderable increase in the cost of coat to tho { consumer. This, it need not bo said, would J havei defeated tho primary object for which J tho State coal-mines wore originally established ' < Thus (adds the Prime Minister) it will be } seen that one of throe courses presented itself J t to. tho Government.— ' , ' , ' ' /a.) Concede' the miners' demands and ' . 1 incur a'loss to the public of about - .£4OOO a year; 1 £ \h.) Increase the price of coal to tho 1 > consumers; £ I fcVßefuse the demands,'' and let all' J questions bo submitted to tho Arbi- * tration Court or Conciliation Com- c missioner. > After full and careful consideration the Government came' to tho conclusion tho,t tho *\ last course was the only one they could reason- a *■ .ably adopt. 1 j In order that members may satisfy them- c (■selves as to. the miners having been fairly T _ iand equitably treated under tho old agreement ' •during the last twclvo months, a statement of the miners', wages is attached, which shows ° )as will bo seen that they, taken as a whole, n - -laverage 14s. Id. per man per day, and for the S ipenod since tho expiration of the'date of the 1 (agreement tho average rate of wages for the 1 '•time worked has been the same. ( The manager reports that if the concession I for trucking and jigging is granted, it will <■ -increase the men's earning-power by about s 20. jer cent v I 1 j "CALM BEFORE A STORM." ' \ EEPOETS OJT GENERAL '_ ' STRIKE. t (By Idecranli-Freas Association) 1 Greymouth, December 1. s There is tho greatest reticence observed over . t Strike matters, and it appears to bo a caso of " % iho calm before a storm, if ono can judge by j ''tho persjAtent rumours that aro going the * Toands that before many dajs a general striko j toll tako place. " 1 " Both eides aro playing tho waiting game, | ond until a move is made no authentic news t Van be obtained. ' LOSS OF £5000 A 1 MONTH. h t f. ' 'KO MORE ADVANCES TO WORKERS. (By Tclesraph—Press > Assi-clation) 1 , Greymouth, December 1. 'Although the miners have now been out a Jweek they are no nearer a settlement. Tho ■whistle at the mine is sounded every morning for work, but without result. Already the stoppage is having a depressing effect on buoinese in the district. The State ti sawmill has ceased work tl ,The valuer for tho Government has decided not to recommend any moro advances to tc •workers for buildmg luTuses m,the district. bi Tho amount paid in wages at the idle mine n averaged Over .£SOOO a month. gi It 19 expected" that tho executive of tho J Miners' Federation will meet at Wcstport on ol December 6 to consider tho situation, and dc- t< Bido as to futuro ,action. p