MINERS' CRISIS.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 October 1920, Page 12 (Supplement)

MINERS' CRISIS.

WHAT DO THE MEN WANT ? POSITION PLAINLY STATED. Everything seems to point to the fact ls that the coal mining crisis is fast reaching breaking point. For many months past it has been apparent that some sin. ( ister influence has been at work, making trouble both for the mine owners and " their employees. No sooner is one trou- 11 b'e settled than another either comes I } ' along, or is invented, and the toofc_ are ' l hardly taken up for the resumption of work before they are laid down again. el '! NO VISIBLE GRIEVANCE. si The mining industry has never been in such ail unsettled condition for many ' years past; yet no one seems able to " say exactly what are the specific griev- J ances which lead up to the "irritation" strikes which now appear to be of almost, every-day occurrence, and which are bringing about a partial paralysis of industry, besides threatening to dislocate ' the transport services upon which the people of New Zealand are so greatly dependent for the necessaries of daily existence. If the men could point to any real grievances that ought to. and chould, be remedied the public would be '! less impatient with them. But, by all accounts, the miners are able to earn P good money, and, so far as the State ■miners are concerned, they are living un-. der better conditions than nuinv city '' workmen, while the Mines Department, with a view to making the conditions 11 trf the State collieries more congenial, lias authorised substantial sums for improving the recreation ground at Runanga and for the laying out of suitable grounds for a bowling green and tennis Mourts. and authority has also been given for the erection of a suitable building to j enable the mcniifter censing their daily •work to enjoy a cup of tea. Yet. it is j from Runanga that the Prime Minister, y has been notified that the men now refuse to work more than seven days in a a fortnight, thus initiating another "go- ], slow" movement that must still further ; •reduce tiie output of coal from the State v colliery. THE COAL SHORTAGE. J In face of a world-wide shortage of , coal, it is depl irable to think that pro- ~ duetion should be falling off year by s year in a country such as New Zealand, s ■with almost illimitable resources of f coal, and that be driven to the 4 necessity of importing still larger quail- f tities of coal to make good the deficiency f or rather in the attempt to do so. The j report of the Mines Department shows j that, since l'.H'il, the production of coal within" the Dominion has fallen off by 409,287 tons per annum, the record standing as follows: < Coal Decrease 011 1 output. 1010 output 1 Year. Tons. Tons. t 1916 2,207.1.'t5 1 1017 2,008.419 188,710 1018 2,0.14:259 222.055 1 1910 ...... 1,847,848 409,287 1 This falling off is attributed in the ' .Mines Report mainly to the "go-slow" ' policy which was in operation amongst the miners from September 1, 1910> to 1 March 31, 1920, but in part, also to (the 1 number of miners being slightly fewer ' than were employed during the preceding year. ' Tll tlie State collieries, the diminished ' output by the hewers employed amounted to 13,104 tons, and their consequent ! * ioss in wages aggregated ;C2700. In the 1 West Coast district, whence practically J all our hard coals are drawn, the decline in production last year was very mark- ■ ed, and had an appreciable effect 011 the mineral trafiic on the Westland railways. This may be seen by a reference to the Railways Report, in which the 1 General Manager of Railways (Mr. R. 1 McVilly )says (page vi.): The quantity of coal carried on the Westport. section was 459,452 tons, against 551,401 tons for tlie previous year, a decrease of 91.958 tons, or Ifi l ,/, per cent. On the Greymouth section, the quantity carried was 283,005 tons, a decrease of 82,783 tons, or 23 per cent. The output of coal carried for the year ended March 31, 1915. was 514.975 tons, compared with 283,005 tons at March 31. 1920. The decrease, 231,130 tons, represents a decline of 45 per cent, in the output of West Coast coals in six years. WHAT ''GO-SLOW" MEANS. It is quite true that, there has been a . falling-olf in the number of miners employed, both above and below ground. 1 as be'ween the two years referred to. : But. the falling off in output is not alone due to the reduction in the number of : miners, from 4150 in 1915 to 3044 ill 1919. It was highest in 19 1 G, when the 1 average per man was 750 tons, so that it may be taken for granted the lower ' figure does not represent the miner '' working at his best. Why he should be s content to thus penalise himself by P joining in a "go-slow" movement, which ' benefits nobody, is one of those mysteries for which no reasonable explanation is forthcoming. It is doubtful if he under, stands that he does not suffer alone, but e penalises the public also by going slow, as the overhead charges remain the same, whether ten tons or fifty are turned out. The 'smaller the output the greater the cost of the coal, and thus the public suffers with the miner in his self-imposed limitation of his wageearning capacity. [ . DEPENDENCE UPON IMPORTS. According to a statement made by ■' Mr. Massey in the House the other day, e there is enough coal in sight in New n Zealand to last the country for a thoun sand years. But the fatuous policy purd sued by the miners has driven, and is 5 driving, some of the best men out of the if mines. They, not unnaturally, object ie to the senseless "go-.slow" business which !S leaves them poorer in pocket, and 10 keeps the majority of the men living y under hand-to:mouth conditions, so far as their earnings arc concerned. But it they are also said to resent the dictait lion of the majority in other matters, ,y such as levies in aid of objects with |i] which they have no sympathy, but which they are expected to support bev; cause the leaders of the union direct j. them to do so. The consequence is j,. that there is a great shortage of workv ers in the mining industry, and, until that can be remedied, it is useless to jq talk of opening new mines. The only alternative, therefore, is to import the coal that cannot be produced owing to the causes stated. To make good the shoriage, coal has been imported at a 4" cost amounting in some eases to over £7 per ton for use on the railways, and similarly high-priced coals have had to be utilised to make good the deficiency 111 local production, and to keep the - power stations, electric lighting plants, va and gasworks going, with the result that al the public is paying more for the public, >5, utilities than "ever. It is not pleasant ;), to contemplate what would happen if th* overseas supplies were suddenly cut

off, in view of ilie greatly reduced local output. More than ever,, New Zealand is dependent to-day upon the supplies she is from the Commonwealth, and from America and other countries, and, in consequence, money that could, and should, be profitably invested in coal-mining enterprises in .New Zealand is flowing out of the country. THE MINING UNREST. Scarcely a day passes but some new trouble arises in connection with the coal-mining industry. Mr. Massey was engaged for over ten days in the earlier part of the year in the endeavor to bring about a bctetr understanding between the mine-owners and the men in their employ with the object of ending the "go-slow" movement. He was so far successful that an agreement was come to between the parties principally interested. and the trouble seemed to have been ended. But the signatures were scarcely dry upon the agreement before fresh trouble began, aiid it once again became evident that some influence was at work with the intent to perpetuate the unrest that has been so markedly apparent in the conduct of the coal miners during the past three years or more. ETC! WAGES FOR WILLING WORKERS. Under the agreement which Mr. Massey was instrumental in bringing about the. miners are getting at least a 20 per cent, rise in wages, and the hewers, if they chose to do so, could, as some, of them have done, cam £2 per day and over. The average net daily earnings of the miners prior to that agreement being made were: 17s lid in 1013-14. 10s 3d in 1914-15. 18s in 1015-16. IDs lid in 1010-17. 23s 7d in 1917-18.

24s 7d in September. 1018(Vide the Board of Trade report on the coal industry, figures quoted in\ the House of Representatives on September 2nd). Now it is stated they are able to earn a grent deal more, and the Government has done its best to induce the men to increase, their output, but apparently in vain. A statement made by the lion. E. W. Alison, chairman of directors of the Taupiri Coal Mines, Ltd., is to the effect that working under normal pressure the men could have averaged HQs per day at. the present hewing rates, or an average for the year of £405 per man. The average wage earned is, Mr. Alison states, 27s 3d a day for bund men and His 4d for machine, men. From the wages standpoint the men do not, therefore, appear to have any real cause for complaint, the minimum rate 'of pay being fixed at 19s 2d per day. ■ A BAD'EXAMPLE FOLLOWED. Following the bad example set by the State coal employees, the Huntly miners have now '''downed tools," with the idea of forcing the Government to afford them preferential treatment over the 111 ntly-Pukemiro railway, upon which special train service., have been provided daily for the convenience of the miners, the departure and arrival o? the trains being fixed to suit their convenience in goinn- to and returning from work, The miners asked for tickets at suburban rates, instead of the twelvetrip tickets which are issued at' cheap rates, and are available by any train. Tlie Government and the Railway Department both take the stand that if the demand was granted similar concessions would have to he made to the general public all round; and that, they say, is out of the question. Tlie men have no quarrel With their employers; they have no claim upon the Government for special consideration or treatment, but they profess to think they have, and so they refuse to work, and the leaders of the Miners' Federation threaten to make the quarrel they are forcing upon the Government the occasion for a general downing of tools on the part of the miners of the Dominion.

It is time the public became aroused to the seriousness of the position, and realised the true objective of those who are responsible for the continued unrest amongst the miners of the Dominion, which, plainly stated, means the overthrow of constitutional government—Dominion.