MINERS’ DEMANDS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 134, 2 March 1921, Page 6

MINERS’ DEMANDS

THE OWNERS’ REPLY TO BK CONSIDERED ON FRIDAY » —- The executive of the New Zealand Federation, will meet in Wellington on Friday to consider the reply of the Coal Mine Owners' Association to the dehisnds of the federation. On February 17, the federation asked for a confsrrence with the owners for the purpose of considering a new national agreement. ; reply, the Coal Mine Owners Association declared that until the demands for abolition of the contract system, six- ' hour day (bank to bank), five-day weei>, abolition of afternoon shift, payment for Klidaya, and) payment for time lost inimum weekly wage) were withdrawn, < it would bo impossible for the owners to agree tzp a conf</ence. Until the position is further discussed between the owners andl the federation it is. unlikely i that any developments will take place. "We will ■ discuss the -position at the meeting of the executive on Friday, remarked Mr. F. O'Rourke (president of the federation) to a Dominion reporter yesterday, "and see where we stand In reference to the proposal for The i institution of a six-hour day (bank to bank) ’ Mt. O’Rourke'said that with the adoption by the coal companies of ? cwn^. 0 I l ' and up-to-date methods of handling coal, a six-hour day could' be .easily worked- " There would be mo diminution ot out- . .put,” .he remarked, "in fact, the present 1 output could be exceeded. To do tins I the men would not have to work any harder than under present they could not work any bard^ - , for they are working at ‘top’ now. Ihe aveiage 1 man who goes down a mine can „ener X X an idea of how to institute a more convenient and more expeditaous ir^^X k X^ion^f n ' thTit W bien proved all the world over that the output of coal was greater ! to-day under an eight-hour system than J miner, had to work twe vo hours a da X and longer By woriong shorter hours the men did not beoom. exhausted, and therefore could increase their output.