A DIRECTOR INTERVIEWED,

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1149, 9 June 1911, Page 5

A DIRECTOR INTERVIEWED,

WHAT THE DEMANDS MEAN. .... STRIKE STRONGLY PROBABLE. (lJy Telegraph-Special Correspondent.) Auckland, Juno 8. With rcferenco to tho threatened! strike at tho Waihi Grand Junction, i Talisman, and other mines, M'r. Charles | Rhodes, local director of the Waihi Com-j pany, was interviewed hero, lie suid fho' demands of the men had been refused! because they wero unreasonable and uu-1 necessary. They wanted 'Js. a day lor labourers and a day ol' 71 hours, and 12s. ■ a day for miners. The demands showed; a general increase of 10 to 1?J- per cent, j Of tho 20 claims made by tho men tho) company would probably be willing to j agree to abuitt 20 per cent, but not more. Mr. Rhodes added Vliat tho position point- i ed to a -strike as strongly probable. If' such a step was taken by the men all j work in and about tho mine would bo' suspended, including the pumping operu-1 lions. "Clearly the result would be tho, flooding of. the lower levels of tho mines,, aud supposing the etrike lasted a montlil it would take two months, adopting tho. most optimistic view, to removo tho water, probably a good deal more. Itwould be impossible during all that tinio to continue the ordinary operations. Ho; assumed that if a strike wore declared 1 the unionists would all bo ordered out: of both mine and mills. Even if the mill-hands did not go out. the battcrieji. could not be kept going because, although! tho company had reserves of ore avail-) able, it would not use them for such a>| purpose. Ono of the features in tho men's attitude that the company took the strongest! objection to,- Mr. Rhodes went oil to say,; was the demand for unconditional preference to unionists. That demand was. especially distasteful in view of tho facts, that the union had cancelled its registration under tho Arbitration Act, and that a great number of tho men hnd resigned from tho nnion. Ho believed that there wasnow a strong feeling among a largo section of tho men in favour of forming a new union, and registering it under ; llio Act. ..II OTHER OPINIONS. WILL THE COMPANIES FIGHT IT OUT? Mr. T._ 11. .Hnnna, local representative■' of tho Waihi Graud Junction and Talis; man Gold-mining Companies, said that in view of the statement that tho mining companies had refused most of the demands of the miners, there seemed little doubt that a strike would eventuate. Whether the Talisman properly at Karnngaliako would or would not be involved'' lie did not know, but it was not unlike-1 ly, as although tho men received some-j what higher pay they had to work| under different conditions. Tho ofTectj of a strike would lie most serious as far: as the Grand Junction mine at Waihi wan concerned, especially if tho Waihi Company's pumping operations were stopped, as the mine depended for its unwatering upon the plant at tho Waihi mine. 11 a striko wero declared, and if it lasted any time, tho water would rise to tho adit level in the Talisman property, and it would take two months or so io nilwater the mine when operations woroi! resumed. During' tho whole of that timo all work would be suspended. It wasi now a question whether tho mining eom-| panics intended to light the matter out, j and it seemed as if they intended to doJ so, in spite of the very serious eiToct that 1 a strike would necessarily have upon tho! mines. I "Giving and Giving," Mr. F. Hull, chairman of Iho Auckland/ Stock Exchange, said that he believed! that the attitude of (lie men was mostly; the result of tho work of men whom, tho better class of miners did not caroi to have working on equal terms with.) them. He believed that tho moro re-i sponsible of the miners would lorm a j new union independently, and that would,be tho best thing that could happen for tlicm. l'f they were looking after tllcir own interests they would certainly i do =o at once. Thero had been m>> trouble with the good men, who wero, able to moke excellent wages, lhe. mining companies had been making concessions to the men —giving and giving, and tho shareholders aud directors aliko had. ■arrived nt the conclusion that that pohev' had come to an end. As to the effect of' a strike upon tho "'•»"<*> j' course, slop all work, but it would not prevent exploratory work being gone on with The shareholders would clearly suiter- through the depression , ill tho prices which would result. 1 rices have declined somewhat already.