ALMOST SETTLED

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 290, 1 September 1920, Page 8

ALMOST SETTLED

COAL DISPUTE ENDING

MR. HALLY'S SUCCESS

' Tho Prime Minister announced in the House of Representatives Inst evening that very considerable progress hail been made towards the settlement of the dispute in tho l coal industry. Members would recollect that when ho was no longer ablo to give the necessary timo to the work pf the Disputes Committee, which had been endeavouring to settlo the disputes, he had appointed Mr. P Hally to act in his place. Duiing tho last ten days Mr. Hally had been actively engaaed in efforts to effect a settlement. In consequence of his efforts, the following agreement had now been signed by the secretary of the Coal Mine Owners' Association and the secretary of the Miners' Federation:—

Subject to Mr. Hally being able to secure the agreement of the insurance company interested to remove the condition it has 'imposed regarding the indemnity in connection vitli thn employment of Manderson, Imtb sides npree to abide by the decisions of Mr, Hally with regard to anv matter;: iu dispute in tho Green "is'and and 'Taratu mines, anit ihat the ordinary work in all mines shall be resumed forthwith, It is agreed that ttm questions in dispute in the Jlataura and Gore mines shall be dealt with by the Miners' Federation and the mine owners concerned, and should not be made a matter to affect the other wines of the Dominion. (Signed) ARBUCKLE.. PRYOR. The Mataura and Gore mines, stated the Prime Minister, were outside tho Mine Owners' Association, and it had been agreed, therefore, tliat the disputes affecting them should not interfere with tho working of the coal mines generally. The parties had agreed to accept Mr. J-lally's decisions on all other points subject to a settlement of the difficulty regarding a man named Manderson. j\landerson_ had been employed by Messrs. Christie Brothers at the Green Island mine, and tlie charge was that he lad been victimised, Some time ago lie had hurt his knee, and the question was whether ho had suffered this injury in the mine or outside. It had been stated that an insurance company |had excluded him from the operation of its poiicy because he might break down at the B(<me point again. This had been one nf tho most difficult points in dispute. Mr. Hally had interviewed the manager of the Commercial Insurance Company, and ho now stated in a letter to the Primo Minister that no embargo would be plaoed on Manderson or any other employee. In order that there might be a clear understanding, tho manager of the company had reiterated this statement in the presence of Mr. Pryor and Mr. Arbuckle, Mr, Massey added that the last difficulty seemed to lmve been removed. Mr. Hally within a day or two would make an award covering the pornU in dispute. These points had never been very important, but they had developed into a dispute of very serious difficulty. He hoped that the coal dispute was now at an end, and that peaceful industry would continue for a very long time in the coal mines,