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THE MINERS' DISPUTE.

Statement by thrpbemhbj

DEADLOCK pN THE WHARVES;

MILLIONS OF TONS OV COAL IDLE. (By Wire.—Own Correspondent.) Wellington, Last Night. Mr. Massey made a statement in the House to-day regarding the latest development in the miners' dispute. He said that if the miners were not properly paid they ought to be He was quite prepared to submit that question to any impartial tribunal—the Arbitration Court, the Judges of the Supreme Court, or any other set of men in whom the public could have confidence. "I know what is happening on the wharves," he added. "The present position is exceedingly unsatisfactory, and it is rapidly becoming intolerable. We have in this country many millions of tons of coal waiting to be mined, and yet the position to-day is .that only with the utmost difficulty are we able to provide sufficient coal to keep our [railways and industries going, and to meet the domestic requirements of tho people." LETTER TO THE MEN. Last Saturday, before he heard of the new difficulty regarding the unloading of coal in Wellington, he had sent the following letter to the secretary of the New Zealand Alliance of Labor, Wellington:—"Dear Sir, I have to refer to my letter of October 16, and to remind you that an answer has not yet been received As a great waste of time and energy is taking place owing to the 'go-slow* policy, which is apparently still in operation in most of the coal minis, and as considerable inconvenience is being caused to many of the public, I shall be glad to know definitely whether the miners intend to accept the last offer made to them by the employers, orj if not, whether it is proposed to file the dispute for hearing under section 4 of the 1911 Act, as suggested by me on the 16th inst. Every facility has been given to the miners for an impartial investigation and settlement. "* You must be aware that a conference was first held with the owners, when an increase- in wages was offered and declined. At your request, I then invited the owners to again meet the miners' representatives. "In reply, the owners stated that they could not concede any further increase in wages, as the cost thereof would have to be passed on to the general public in increased prices, and that, therefore, a further conference would be useless. I then pointed out to you that several courses were open to the men, under any of which they had the right to file their dispute for investigation and settlement. You rejected all of these in turn. "1 understand that you declined the offer of the owners, which was already equivalent, or more than equivalent to that increase. I then suggested that you should have Conciliation Councils of experts representing both Bides set up in the various districts. These councils would be much the same as a conference, and would be presided over by the Conciliation Commissioners, any of whom you had agreed to accept as chairman of the conference proposed by you. You objected to this course, because, so you stated, it was essential that the dispute should be dealt with for the whole Dominion.

"I then pointed out to you that the Act met your wishes in this direction, seeing that section 4 of the 1911 amendpent Act empowers the men to file their dispute for the Dominion generally or for any part of the Dominion, as they may choose. I have not received any reply from you to this last suggestion. "Yon have also rejected my proposal that a ballot of the men be now taken on the question of accepting the owners' last offer, namely, that the increase in wages conceded by them, with the exception of two or three special cases, be payable forthwith, instead of being withheld until the expiration of the present agreement. I have had the business of the House to attend to for the last two months, and my time has been more than fully occupied, but, 'in justice to the citizens of the Dominion, who are interested in this dispute, I would ask that a more sensible and reasonable attitude be adopted and the difficulty brought to an end.—Yours faithfully (signed) W. F. Massey." DISCUSSION IN.THE HOUSE.

Mr. Massey added he had not received any reply to that letter. He did not know if a reply would be forthcoming.

Mr. Holland: You assume the miners are wrong.

Mr. Massey: I believe the miners are wrong. The honorable gentleman knows in his heart that such is the case.

Mr. Parr: Why don't you' go to the Arbitration Court? Mr. Holland: We have no confidence in the Court, and the honorable gentleman knows it. Mr. Massey: The mine owners have made their offer,-and they are prepared to stand by it, They are quite prepared to stand by it now. I say that this thing has got to be faced and dealt with It simply cannot go on in the present way. I am not able to make any suggestion further than I have made already. Mr. Holland: It looks to me/' as if you are precipitating a strike before the elections.

Mr. Massey: The thing has got to bo settled, and we have got to bring about a better and more satisfactory state of things. I can assure honorable members that no one is more anxious to bring about a satisfactory settlement of this difficulty than I am, but the outlook is not good. We may be involved in very serious trouble before long. I hope that the trouble will not come, but if it does we must face it. We have got to assert the right of the people of this country to govern the country in their own way. Mr. Holland: The employers' way. Mr. Massey: We are not going to be governed by any minority. Mr. Holland asked if Mr. Massey would call a compulsory conference of miners and transport workers- (including railway men) with the employers, and whether, in the event of that conference failing to bring about a settlement of the dispute, he would immediately take steps to put into operation the recommendations of the Industries Commission, which was the only possible solution of the trouble.

Mr. Massey was not prepared to say the recommendations of the committee were the only possible solution of the trouble. It had not been proved to be a solution in England. His own opinion was that the solution would have to be found by some other method in this country. As soon as he could get time he would inquire into the whole problem on his own account. He hoped to be able to make his mind up then as to what must be. done and to make a statelatent to the Eouit on Uw situation,

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TDN19191030.2.32

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Taranaki Daily News, 30 October 1919, Page 5

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,144

THE MINERS' DISPUTE. Taranaki Daily News, 30 October 1919, Page 5

THE MINERS' DISPUTE. Taranaki Daily News, 30 October 1919, Page 5

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