Hon. P. C. Webb Replies to Miners

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 60, 14 March 1944, Page 5

Hon. P. C. Webb Replies to Miners

(Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Marcn IS. Interviewed to-day regarding the published statement of the State Miners’ Union, Hon. P. C. Webb said there was established machinery for the settlement of all claims by miners or for the correction of injustices, but in the present case the State miners had not availed themsd /es of the customary method of dealing with such matters and had actually adopted a go-slow policy before presenting their demands to the management. The statement published by the president and secretary of the union did not make any explanation as to why the constitutional and recognised procedure was not followed in this instance and this was a fundamental and important omission. “The statement that the tonnage rates at Liverpool and Strongman mines are on the lowest scale is simply not correct,’’ said the Minister. “On the West Coast the tonnage rates at the Paparoa, Stockton and Millerton mines are lsd. and 3|d. less than at Liverpool and 7£d. and 9£d. less than at Strongman for pillar and solid workings respectively. “In any case,’’ said the Minister, “these rates have no special significance and, as all mining men know full well, the factors which have determined the rates for a particular colliery are the hardness and nature of the coal measures. ’ ’ Dealing with the question of transport, Mr. Webb said that although the Liverpool mine was in a fairly inaccessible place there was a good train service for the employees and there were other mines in the Dominion less fortunately situated. There was a good bus service to the Strongman mine and the Department subsidised the cost of transport on a far more liberal scale than at any private mine in the country. In addition at Runanga and Dunollie where the great majority of the men live the Government had mado financial provision for the best housing conditions and amenities which exist in any mining field in the country. Mr. Webb said that no increase in tbo price of tools and explosives purchased by the miners at Liverpool and Strongman had been made since the outbreak of war and in point of fact these two mines had been more fortunate than other collieries in this respect. The Minister pointed out that the selling prices of coal had been pegged by the Price Tribunal in accordance with the Govenrment’s policy and the State coal mines do not sell their coal at the prices mentioned by the union. “The accounts of the State coal mines are public property,** said the Minister, “and the figures are shown in considerable detail and laid before Parliament after being passed by the Controller and Auditor-General as required by law. The union’s statement that a miner only receives 4d. per cwt. bag of coal is very misleading, ’ ’ said the Minister. “The Department has always been prepared to place its information freely in the hands of the mine workers’ organisation and there is no secret as to the costs of handling coal from the time it is dug by the hewer until it reaches the consumer’s bin.’’ “Take the case of one ton of Strongman coal and the costs involved in delivering it to the customers in, say, Christchurch, ’ ’ said the Minister. * * The colliery costs per ton are as follow: Hewing rate and allowances, 6s 4.9 d; truckers and other workers, 12s 9.2 d; accident insurance, Is; rail and bus fares, 6.4 d; mine stores and power charges, 4s 2.8 d; depreciation, 4s 4.4 d; relief fund and rescue levies, 8d; head office and colliery charges, postages and general expenses, 8.5 d; total, 27s Id. The depot costs per ton are: Railage to Christchurch, 20s 5.0 d; wages for discharging, bagging, weighing and loadin, 4s 6.1 d; make weight and loss in transit, 2s 5.3 d; salaries in Christchurch, is 11.7 d; general expenses in Christchurch, Is 3.0 d; accident insurance, l.ld; bad debts, 1.4 d; depreciation, 5.9 d; delivery charges and losses on sacks, 8s 2.9 d; grand total cost.?, 66s 7.4 d. “The average price received by the depot for one ton of Strongman coal sold in its normal proportions of screened and small is 65s 7d per ton to which must be added the subsidy of 3s per ton, making a total realisation of 68s 7d or 2s per ton in excess of the total cost. Apart from the fact that interest on capital employed costs more than 2s per ton, there are other markets to be supplied which do not return as satisfactory a price per ton as obtains at Christchurch. “As far as mechanisation is concerned,’’ said the Minister, “a few years ago the Government sent the Superintendent of the Stato Mines to Australia to examine and report on the extent to which the State mines could develop the use of mechanical devices and his report clearly showed that the conditions in our mines were definitely adverse to any developments along the lines of certain mines in Australia. It is an easy matter to generalise on the subject of mechanisation,’* said the Minister, “but it is another matter to advance a specific scheme and be able to support it by reasonable argument.’*