MINERS AND HOME GUARD SERVICE

Southland Times, Issue 24868, 7 October 1942, Page 4

MINERS AND HOME GUARD SERVICE

Protest Against Exemption (Special) AUCKLAND, October 6. At a meeting of the Huntly A Company of the Home Guard, the following resolution was passed unanimously: “That this meeting of Huntly Home Guardsmen takes strong exception to the recent order issued on 'September 21 exempting coal-mine workers from Home Guard training and considers that because of the extreme gravity of the war situation training should be made compulsory for all eligible men not serving in the armed forces.” More than 50 per cent, of those present at the meeting were miners. A similar resolution was passed recently by the Rotowaro Home Guard unit, which is composed almost entirely of coal miners. Speakers at the meeting in Huntly contended that there was no real reason why coal-mine workers should be exempted as it could easily be shown from the mine time-books that, leaving out idle time because of the recent stoppage, mine workers eligible for training during the past year had worked on an average not more than 40 hours a week. The order includes clerks, surface hands, rope road workers and truckers, as well as miners. Comment was made on the unfairness of the order and the dissension caused in the district through men of one industry being exempted without reason, while men engaged in other industries working shifts and longer hours were liable to prosecution for non-attendance at parades. The effect of the order would be the immediate interruption in training of a battalion which consisted of 400 coal-mine workers out of 600 of its strength.