BRITISH COAL STRUGGLE

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1926, Page 4

BRITISH COAL STRUGGLE

MEN OUT FOR 30 WEEKS ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT. MANY ABORTIVE MEETINGS. The coal strike in Britain commenced on May 1, 1926, and hae therefore been in progress for 30 weeks. The trouble arose, out of the proposal of the mineowners in July, 1925, to pay reduced wages and ask the men to work more than seven hours a day. The men refused both conditions and a strike at that date was only averted by the eleventh-hour intervention of the Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, with an offer of a subsidy to the industry as from August 1 to April 30 of this year. This offer and the setting up of the Coal Commission brought about temporary peace. The subsidy cost the country upwards of £22,000,000. The commission was duly set up and it issued its report on March 12. Its recommendations included one that the subsidy should eease at the .appointed date. It also recommended a revision of the minimum percentage a'ddition to the standard rates of wages fixed in 1924 in a time of temporary prosperity as being indispensable to save the industry from the impending disaster. The miners rejected this report and went on strike. Then followed the short-lived general strike in their support. The Government next put forward proposals for a settlement and offered to renew the lapsed subsidy to the extent of a further £3,000.060. These terms were rejected by the men and the subsidy offer lapsed on June 1.

DISPUTE AS TO NATIONAL ISSUE. The strike went on in spite of continued efforts to reach a basis of settlement. Then the Government paseed legislation making an cight-hours day in the mines permissable. The miners’ leaders Were firmly opposed to longer hours, but they began at length to show more inclination to accept some reduction in wages, provided that any agreement made should be on a national and not on a district basis. Among the abortive settlement proposals put forward was one framed by several bishops and church leaders. The parties were brought together on two or three occasions, but the dispute seemed to be incapable of settlement. After a resultless conference with the owners at the end of August the miners issued a manifesto. This stated that the conditions laid down by the chairman of the Mining Association were such as to make a settlement impossible. He stated that the owners insisted on national negotiations and agreements being abandoned in the future, and on the miners agreeing to the working day being lengthened by one hour. ANOTHER PROPOSAL CRITICISED. The manifesto went on to say that both these proposals were put forward by the owners during the proceedings of the Coal Commission. They were discussed at length by the commission, and emphatically condemned by it. On tile question of national agreements it stated: “The rightness and the necessity of that policy are in our view the slightest. If the proposal of the Mining Association were accepted, the mining industry, in respect of wage negotiations, would stand alone, a solitary exception to the settled practice of every other Industry that need be considered.” The miners again rejected a. scheme put forward by the Government at the end of September for district settlements under a system of national supervision. The miners had previously proposed an immediate return to work for three months at reduced wages, while an Arbitration Board, with an independent ehairman, assessed the value of the reforms under the report of the Coal Commission and decided on the ultimate wages to be paid to the men in the different districts. The men demanded the retention of the seven hours day. All through the mineowners have insisted upon district agreements. At the end of last month the council of the Trades Union Congress commenced it fresh effort to bring about peace. It waited upon Mr. Baldwin on October 27, but it was then in a most difficult position as it had not been able to induce the miners to give it freedom to negotiate, although the leaders of the miners were eaid to have been anxious to save their faces, and to avoid the appearance of defeat. The members of the council were also anxious to rehabilitate their organisation as the mouthpiece of trades unionism. It was then predicted that there was a possibility of a settlement based on district agreements. The owners were said to be prepared to offer more generous terms for an immediate return to work. Next day the council of the Trades Union Congress decided to ask the executive of the Miners’ Federation to meet it at the earliest possible moment. Its object was to secure authority from the federation to ask the Government to summon a conference of the coalmine owners and the miners to discuss a settlement of the dispute on the basis of the report of the Coal Commission. The leaders of the miners met the trades union representatives on November 2. Reports unfavourable to the cause of the strikers were presented from all the coalfields, where the men wore said to be ready to accept local terms for an immediate resumption of work. The meeting decided to summon a national conference of miners’ delegates for November 4, in the hope that they would authorise the Trades Union Congress to secure a settlement. The miners’ delegates duly met and gave the executive of the federation a free hand to negotiate with, and through the trade union officials.

BASIS TOR A SETTLEMENT. The result was that the Prime Minister was waited upon on November 5 by a joint deputaion from the council of the Trades Union Congress after the latter had conferred with the miners’ executive and had been authorised by the latter to arrange for negotiations on th basis of district settlement embodying national principles, with a national arbitration body to settle disputes. Subsequently Mr. Baldwin met the miners and the mineowners and sent tlu Miners’ Federation a document embodying the suggestions which had been discussed, asking them to consider them These terms were considered by the

executive of the Miners’ Federation and referred to the district miners’ Associations. They were: That the Miners’ Federation should do everything possible to promote the immediate resumption of work by district settlement, including hours of work., That the owners should pay temporarily rates of pay not less than those which existed before the stoppage as a basis of the rates in every district, except Northumberland, Durham, CumberlamJ and North Wales, and the same subsistence wagd. The owners also to undertake to reinstate workmen as opportunity offers without prejudice to those at present employed. Provision was made for the determination of standard district agreements, the establishment of district boards with an independent chairman, periodical determination of trading results by accountants representing both sides, and the regulation of the division of the net proceeds between the owner and the miner on the lines of 1924 agreement.

As soon as work was resumed the Government undertook to legislate for the establishment of a national arbitral tribunal, which for six months would hear appeals against any agreement not complying with the standard agreeißants or those involving a day longer than seven hours. The arbitral authority would be appointed by the Minister of Labour from among members of the Industrial Court not connected with the coal industry, assisted by two assessors, one of whom would be chosen by each party appealing. GOVERNMENT TERMS REJECTED. Strong hopes were entertained that these terras would be accepted by the district associations. However, on November 20 it was announced that they had rejected them by 460,805 votes to 313,200. Then another conference of miners’ delegates passed a resolution recommending all the district associations immediately to open negotiations with the, mine-owners in their respective districts, but not to enter into final settlements until a national, conference had received reports regarding all the negotiations. It is significant that 10,000 men resumed work on the same day, making the total who had gone back to the pits that week 50,000,

The tragic dispute virtually ended with the delegates’ devision to authorise the men to negotiate for district settlements. The decision was reached after an acrimonious debate. It really meant that- national negotiations were abandoned, as well as the Government's terms, though the districts were urged to endeavour to incorporate certain national principles adopted by the conference of delegates. A national conference was called for I- riday to consider the news from the districts, and it is the decision of this conference which is told in a recent cable message. In view of the Lancashire agreement it is interesting to note that the Nottingham owners and men signed a five-years’ agreement last week and five pits were reopened in North-, nmberland. The total number of men back at work on Monday last was 390,381.