Green Island Trouble

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 79, 13 September 1912, Page 2

Green Island Trouble

THE POSITION AT PRESENT.

The proprietors of the Green, Island collieries have so far receive., no reply from the miners in regard, to their communication that any new agreement covering wages entered into between the two parties must be made an award under the Arbitration Court. As stated by us previously (says "Otago Times"), the miners concerned subsequently held a meeting, at which they decided to stick to their present governing body—the Federation of Labor. There the matter stands at present, but everything continues to work smoothly at the mines concerned —Christie's. Freeman's, and the Jubilee. In conversation yesterday with a "Times" reporter a.-prominent official of the. Green Island branch of the Otago Oftal Miners' Union emphatically Stated that there was no dispute between the owners and.the men. He said that the miners ' had not the- slightest desire to strike, and that If, personally, he could stop it there would be no trouble at the Green Island mines. However, the men considered that the members of the Arbitration Court were not, and could not be, fully acquainted, as laymen, with the conditions under which the miners had to work, and that, therefore, when appearing before the court in a desire to get better working conditions they were unjustly handicapped by this lack of knowledge on the part of its members. In, answer to a question as to what tbft men intended to do in the face of the reply received from the owners, the union official replied: "What can they do? They can only go on working as usual in the meantime. They do not want any trouble." He concluded by remarking that he, far one, was quite in favor of an agreement being come to with the owners—-'not necessarily registered under they Arbitration Court, but one which coruld be made quite as binding as any eouro award.

When the object is to raise the permanent condition of a people, small means do not merely produce imall effects; they produce no effect at all. — John Stuart Mill.