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Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 2, 25 August 1931, Page 4

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GRAVE SITUATION IRRETRIEVABLE SWAMPING OF THE WORKINGS j THREATENED. j MEN'S ATTITUDE FIRM. * 1 WHANGAREI, Monday. | Gravely serious . eonditions eon- 1 tinpe in connection with the strike j which commenced last Wednesday at j Wilson's (N.Z.) Portland Cement | Gompany's mine at Hikurangi? Two j hundred men attended a meeting of j the Miners' Union branch yesterday, j when a decision was reaehed on prae- 1 tically an unanimous vote to hand ; the dispute over the National Unit- ; ed Mine Workers' Union. j Rej>resentations have been tele- i graphed and it is expected that a de- j finite reply will be received early this week. "The men are not worrying whether the mine is closed or not. The j owners have been holding a bogey ' over our heads all the time and us- j ng it as a weapon to bring tiie men j into submission," deelared Mr. Lat- ] ham, seeretary of the--'' Union. j Meantime, the mine has been man- i ned by a skeleton staff of five. The I pumps, which have reaehed the sur- ; face, are being dismantled. The : management indicates that unless the men u'esume work to-morrqlw, the ■ last pump, a big eight inch one, which : cost £1500, will be withdrawn. This , would mean the irretrievable swamp- j ing of the workings. ■ Much anxiety is expressed con- ' cerning the safety of the men in the adjoining mine of the Hikurangi Coal Company, as the workings there are bound to fiood if Wilson's mine is left unattended. j The total number of men em- ; ployed in Wilson's and the Hiku- ' rangi mines is 360, while other small i mines in the vicinity employ 60 men. Wilson's workers declare that "the next move must come from the company. . ' ;