COAL MINERS' WAGES.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 July 1918, Page 4

COAL MINERS' WAGES.

OWNERS REFUSE TO VARY -,, , AGREEMENTS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Coal-mine Owners' Association, which has Seen considering the request made by the Miners'. Federation for an increase of wages, has reported to tt* Minister of that the following ttf solutions were passed unanimously:—♦ That, as agreements have been enteted into between individual coal-mine owners and individual miners' unions, this association is of opinion that the don* sideratwn of any question of varying the! terms of any agreement should only bd made betweeen the contracting parties* therefore, the request for a conference ">*< tween the Coal-mine-Owners' Association and the Miners'* Federation is unnecessary. That as the existing industrial agreements, made under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Acts has only been recently entered- into between miners' unions and the respective mining companies, and have still a considerable; poriod currency, and as there is no ju#tt« ftable grounds for any further increase of wages, in view of the fast tfttt th» earnings of coal-mine workers, who work the full available time, compare more favorably with those of other classes of workers, the coal-mine owners cannot see their way to agree to vary the terms of the existing agreements. That .this meeting approves of the adoption of a bonus system, dependent upon full time being worked. That, in too opinion of the coal-mine owners, the earnings of truckers can be considerably increased under the system of contract trucking, and that the coal-mine owners are pre* pared to make suitable arrangement* for the introduction of the contract system. "