Kaitangata Problems.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 13, 2 June 1911, Page 12

Kaitangata Problems.

FATALITIES AND EXTRACTING

PILLARS

FEDERATION AND LEVIES.

UPHOLD THE BALLOT.

A series of accidents more or less serious culminated on May 15th in one of our number being killed by a fall of ooal in the Kaitangata mine. The deceased (Jno. McGhee) is a son of Mr Geo. McGhee, of Kaitangata, and has been resident here for a number of years. He was engaged at the time of the accident in pillar and head coal work, and when in the act of filling a box of coal, a large quantity of head coal become detached, and without warning fell on him, killing him instant an eousrv.

It is about time that the miners of New Zealand forced the position with regard to the safest method of extracting pillars. At present the main factor appears to be the question of the cheapest method and the safety of the miners seems to be a secondary consideration. It is not asserted that no precautions arc taken, but that the two questions mentioned above are not considered in the proper order, which is that the safety of the miners should be emphatically first and foremost and not only in pillar and head coal work, but in all the work dfone underground. At present the system which obtains in the Kaitangata mine is for the management to open up the mine with as many wide bords as possible, and the object so far as the workmen can see is t» avoid payment of yardage rates fixed for narrow places. The result of driving wide

bords is that for one thing the miners engaged in extracting pillars are not working in as safe conditions as they would if the mine was opened up with more narrow places. Another result that affects the employers is that hundreds of tons of coal are lest to them by the collapse of portions of the mine where pillar work is being carried out, the coal being covered with stone and irretrievably lost.

Another evil in. our system is that at times several pillars are being brought back almost abreast of one another simultaneonslyj and the noise of so many shovels prevents the miners from detecting any sound or movement in their immediate nnifrhbov.rhood, and thus increases the risk ttey have to Tim should they be working in a place where every sense has to be continuously on the alert.

We still have a few members of the Union who evidently are of the opinion that Federation is a deadly evil and to be avoided. The Otago Miners' Union while working under its old miles did not have the power to enforce the payment of levies by members. The old rules, having been altered and amended, now provide for the enforcing of payment of levies, and the qxiarterly contribution of Is per member payable by the Union to the Federation being about due, the management committee of the Union decided purstiant to the powers vested in them by Rule (5) paragraph (b) of the Rules,. to strike a levy of Is per member to meet the quarter's dues to the Federation. They posted a notice to that effect on the Union notice board at the mine and also intimated that the levy would be taken up the next pay-day. Before pay-day en mc, however, the following notice by some means was posted on the notice board beside the Union's notice ;

Comment is needless on the merits of an action of this description. All the readers of yonr paper require to know is that on two if not on three occasions a ballot was taken throughout the Union for the purpose of discovering if the Union was or was not in favour of joining the Federation and on each occasion a substantial majority of the members voted in .favor of joining the Federation. On the first ballot, though, in favour of the proposal, an objection was raised that it was informal. The second ballot was also in favour of joining, but the officers of the Union for some reason did not succeed in giving effect to the mandate of a majority of the Union. A -third ballot was then taken and again a majority voted in the affirmative. On this occasion a fr-esh Executive being in offic-e, they deemed it to be their duty to give effect to the expressed dictates of the majority of the Union. Strange to say too, the individual whose name appears under the notice was a member of the Executive at the time when the second ballot was taken. In fact if the writer is not mistaken, he was President of the Union, at the time. Now, however, it seems as if the somewhat small minority has him as a leader in an anti-Federation movement, and instead of promoting unity, by loyally supporting the majority, the tail is busily engaged propagating discord by attempting to wag the dog. That differences of opinion should arise in respect to any question is but natural, and we are all entitled to iiave our own individtial opinions, but once a ballot is taken, then if we realise what unionism means it is our duty to either support the majority or else sever our connection entirely.

It does not appear, however, that the notice had' the effect that was desired by its authors, in fact it slightly overreached itself. In any case, Federation has come to stay, and all intelligent and unbiassed workers recognise that if they want to hold their own in the struggle, they must link up the various craft unions into one solid organisation : SPECTATOR.