Miner's Onion Matters

Huntly Press and District Gazette, Volume 3, 27 November 1914, Page 3

Miner's Onion Matters

The members of the Miners Union having considered the mining conditions prevalent before and after the disaster at ftalph,s mine have placed their •lews of the position before the directors with a view to an alteration in the industrial agreement at present in peration. This agreement was made under the following conditions (a) The mine was regarded as a safe mine, and was worked with naked lights and ordinary explosives. The miners’ were able to earn a fair living at the rates provided by the agreement; (b) When the agree ment was made by the union it consisted of only the original 15 members incorporated to break the strike. These conditions have all changed thus: (a) The union now comprises the whole of the mining employees except the officials and, consequently, is a very different body from that which made the original agreement, since that Ghange took place there lias been no opportunity to confirm or consider the agreement. (b) Thedisasterhasoccurred and safety lamps and “ permitted” explosives have been introduced. The safety lamp gives a comparatively feeble light which in the short period of about 12 months will injuriously affect the eyesight of from 30 to 35 per cent of all underground workers and in the mean time the nervous strain of the work is greatly increased. Further, in the extraordinarily high bords found at Taupiri West, where the roofs have to he made with the pick, and where some men are always hewing coal while standing on stages of from eight to twenty feet from the ground, the risk of accident through over balancing and suffering a fall, is increased manifold as stated in Inspector Bennie’s report to the Under Secretary of Mines. The system of trench hording substituted for staging entails much extra exertion to produce a given quantity of coal, because in a large number of working places there is no satisfactory natural floor, and a floor has to be hewn out of the coal. The getting of coal by means of safety lamps is a comparatively slow process, and si nee the introduction of safety lamps the miners have not been making a living wage at the hewing and yarding rates provided in the agreement. The exclusion of ordinary hasting powder which was used the disaster and the substitution of“permittedexplosives” which are not nearly so effective as the blasting powder, also greatly decreased the output of , the miners, and, since they are working at piece-work rates, then wages suffer proportionately. The general prohibition of shotfiring by the miners and the appointment of an authorised shotfirer hinder the work of getting coal, and, consequently,

the minets’ wages are the less on that account. The fumes of the ‘permitted’ explosives have a depressing and very injurious effect on the health of all underground workers. Finally, the mine turns out not to be the safe mine it thought to be. Not only is it gassy but the dust is peculiarly dangerous and the permitted explosives have a characteristic effect in pulverising the the coal and throwing up large quantities of fine dust. Generally, the workers submit that — 1. It is no longer possible for the miners to make a living wage at the hewing and yarding rates provided in the agreement. 2. The health of all underground workers is detrimentally affected under the new conditions. 3. The fancied security is now known to be non-existent. The union, therefore, ask for a revision of the scale of pay of underground workers. The company in receiving the deputation and discussing the question of making a supplementary agreement to meet the new circumstances. Evidently they recognised the necessity for a new scale, though we desire to correct the statement in your letter of 30th. October last, that the application made by the deputation referred to “hewing rates.” All underground workers are affected by rhe new circumstances in seme material degree and the deputation brought that fact before the company, and the union still desires to do so. The employees submit the enclosed as a reasonable scale under the new circumstances and in doing so feel that the rates therein provided would ensure no more to a fair average worker than a fair living wage. The proposed scale has been approved by a meeting of the employees, who will be glad if the company will consider and reply to tlriapplication as soon its possible, as the matter is one of groa f urgency. The men Fro not making a living at present and unless some improvement is effected at an early date they will simply be driven from the town. They are continuing working for the present because of the hope inspired by the company’s letter of 30th October that a sup plementary agreement will be arrived at. having re'respective action to the time when the work was commenced again after the disaster. The scale proposed by the union as referred to above provides for a general increase all round, and differentiates on a sliding scale the rates to Inpaid for work clone in bords varying areas. The new clause relating to truckers, road clippers and underground wort increases the day’s pay by shilling, while if a miner Ini taken from the coal by the

! manager to do nnv kind of ode is to b ■' ■ tl • ol’ 12s paid: .. A . ntir.i im j crease in the hewing rate is a»kei as well as for stone picking out of the coal, for bottom stone and for boring. A minimum wage of 12 a day for all miners engaged hewing coal is requested. The new scale to retrospective as from November 2nd, the date of the resumption of work after the disaster.