MINERS DOWN TOOLS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1042, 5 August 1930, Page 7

MINERS DOWN TOOLS

DISPUTE IN SOUTHLAND SYMPATHY STRIKE Press Association INVERCARGILL, Moaday. As a result of the dismissal of 17 men at the Wairakei Coal Company’s mine, the remaining 20, it is stated, have decided to lay down their tools in a strike of sympathy. According to a statement issued by the mine manager, Mr. J. T. Mosley, the men held a stop-work meeting on July 21. The management believed that they passed a resolution limiting their output to eight boxes a man a day in solid work and 10 in pillars and tops. “On July 25.” said Mr. Miller, “notice was posted dispensing with the services of all men engaged on or subsequently to May 13, 1929, as from August 2, 1930, and cancelling all prospecting Work. < “On Monday, July 2S, another stopwork meeting was held, and I accompanied the managing director, who addressed the meeting and explained the financial'position of the company. He referred to the impossibility of carrying on with the rapidly rising costs and decreasing output. We then retired and left the men to themselves. Some time later the union secretary, accompanied by two workmen’s delegates, met the managing director and myself on the question of restoring the back shift, prospecting work and sharing the work with temporary men. REFUSED CONDITIONS “We refused the first two conditions. On the third question we gave them to understand that, providing they resumed a normal output, we were willing either to allow the temporary men to share the work or dispense with them, as the regular hands decided. After lunch the same delegation met me and informed me that they had decided to share the work with the temporary hands. On my emphasising the point of a resumption of normal output, they merely reiterated their statement about sharing work and declined to admit that there was a restriction of output in operation. “On acquainting the managing director of the men’s decision he instructed me to close down the plant. At a subsequent meeting of directors it was decided to open the mine for work under normal conditions this morning.” Advice was received from Ohai this afternoon that the men had presented their terms to trfie management and that their request regarding the sharing of work had been declined. At a special general meeting of the Nightcaps District Miners’-Union yesterday the- following resolution was carried unanimously:—“That in the <event of the Wairaeki miners rejecting the owners’ terms they will receive the financial, and moral support of the whole district.”