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THE COAL STRIKES

CONFERENCE PROSPECTS MILLERTON MEN REFUSE TO RESUME Tlio essential particulars of the offer made to the coal miners' unions by the Government and the coal mine .owners aro given in a statement by Mr. Somple sent by the Press Association and published below. The miners have not all gone back to work, and thero is news that the Millerton. men have voted on the question, and have declared by a large majority that they will not go hack-. There is a considerable chance that the owners will not leave their offer of a conference open for very much longer. Early next week it should be. known definitely whether there is to be a conference or not.

STATEMENT BY MINERS' AGENT CONFERENCE IF MEN RESUME. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Westport, August-30. Mr. R. Semple called at the Westport "Times" office this morning and made a statement fur publication. Since the national ballot of miners was taken, according to instructions from the federation, he said, the officers had been striving to got a conference with coal owners, through the Government, with a view to arriving at a settlement. After several days the officers extracted two proposals from the Government, firstly, a Commission, and, if the employers refused a Commission, they guaranteed a conference conditionally that the men returned to work while negotiations were progressing. Without committing the men to either of the-proposals we agreed to place, them before all the unions, including those, idle, with a request to return to work while these negotiations were on. Blackball, Roa, and Millerton Unions disagree with the nroposal to return to work. Messrs. Parry and O'Rourkn were putting the proposals before the northern ,unions, but he did not know' the result. None of the northern mines was on strike.

Yesterday morning, on ,Ins return to town, he (Mr. Scrapie) received a memorandum from tho Minister of- Mines informing him that the Government had arranged a eonferenca forthwith bctween the owners and the federation representatives, conditionally that the men returned to work while the conferonce was proceeding. "It will thus bo seen," said Mr. Semple, "that the miners have won out on the question of the recognition of their organisation, and are now in a position to meet tho employers round the table to discuss tho question of a 20 per cent, increase in wages', but it is for those miners who are on strike to'say whether they will return to work and allow a conference to take place. If.a conference is unsuccessful the position will be again in the miners' hands', seeing that they asked tho Government to call a conference. Ho saw no other courso left open for them but to return to work and comply with the Minister's request, pending a satisfactory settlement.

"Officers of tho federation have done everything that is humanly possible to bring about a conference," Mr. Semple said, "and it is tho wish of tho officers that nothing should be done that might retard their endeavours. Everything that has been done has been carried out with due consideration to all tho surrounding circumstances, and in strict conformity with the instructions received from the federation."

The memorandum received yesterday was, Mr. Semple stated, substantial proof that the work done had been for good, not only for the miners, but for the whole community. The federation hud absolute confidence in the justice of the miners' demands, and felt that if the employers were at all liberal the miners' request for an increase would be granted without delay, and thus put an end to what promised to be a national dislocation of Industries. The miners on the West Coast were unanimous in their opinion that a Royal Commission was not a satisfactory way in which to attempt to settle the dispute which had now been before employers for the past seven, or eight months, and the men rightly thought that tho matter ought to he settled without further'delay, but they were not opposed to a Commission to go generally into the coal question. MILLERTON MEN WILL NOT RESUME. Westport, August 30.Apparently the Millerton miners are stubborn for a 20 per cent, increase in wages. A baTiot was taken this niorn<iig,'when bv.,125 votes to 53 they decided not to return to work. The other Buller district mines are working. Mr. Semple left for the south this morning, en route for Wellington.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19180831.2.39

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 8

Word count
Tapeke kupu
730

THE COAL STRIKES Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 8

THE COAL STRIKES Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 294, 31 August 1918, Page 8

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