MINING DISPUTE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 46, 10 March 1937, Page 9

MINING DISPUTE

-Pres« A8«ociaHon.I

Conference Under Way at Auckland MINISTERS PRESENT

tfjT TelesraDh-

AUCKLAND, Last Night. ' A further eli'ort to negotiate a new agreement goveruing wages aud working conditions in the New Zealand coai - mining industry was begun in Auckland at a conference convened at the request of the Minister of Mines, Hon. P. 0. Webb, between representatives of New Zealand Coalmine Owners' Associafiqn and the united mine workers of New Zealand. The Minister of Mines and the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. W. Lee Martin, were present at the opening of the conference, which was in , continuation of one held at Wellington j a fortnight ago. The earlier conference had failed to reach agreement on the matters at issue. The employers were representeo. t>y the president of the Coal Mine Owners ' Association, Mr C. C. Davis, of Christchurch, and' secretary, Mr T. 0. Bishop, and officials of f our companies operating •in the Waikato— namely, Taupiri Coal Mines, Limited, Pukemiro Coliieries, Limited, Renown Coliieries, Limited, and Glen Afton Colleries Limited. Ropresentatives of the National Council of nnited mine workers were:- — The president, Mr J. Devlin, the national secretary, Mr A, MeLagan, and Mr 1. Hutchinson. Delegates trom the Waikato miners unions were also present. The conference was held in camera and it was stated later that, after the two Ministers had addressed the delegates, they were thanked for the interest they had taken in the welfare of the coal, mining industry. They then retired and the coriference adjourned until the afternoon iii order to enable the mine owners } delegates to consider matters which Mr Webb had raised. When the sitting was resumed a sub* committee consisting of five representatives from each side was appointed to consider several of the clauses of the existing 1 agreement and to report back to the full conference to-morrow.