H.— 44a

64

men had been working a little harder than they did prior to the war. Mention of the fourteen weeks' " go-slow " policy early in 1917 is relevant here. (5.) The efficiency of the labour. This may be affected by differences in the training or skill of the miner, or by changes in the mechanical aids to production used by him, or in the general organization of the mine. There appears to have been no noteworthy changes in this respect in New Zealand during the past five years, except that in some cases the explosives used to fall the coal are inferior in quality to what they were before the war. Nor can it be said that the class of miner employed has on the average changed much as regards skill and energy. (6.) Certain conditions influencing the amount of the miner's output in a given time. Most of these have been noted under (3) above. It will be seen from this brief consideration of the subject that the relation of minors' actual earnings to his rate of pay per ton hewed is not a simple matter, but most complicated, and that statistics of average earnings and output per man per shift over a period such as those in Table 80,

Table 80.

which refer mainly to the years ending the 30th April, 1914, and the 30th April, 1918, cannot be understood and interpreted by any one who has not made himself familiar with the changes in all the factors noted above (and others, for the list is not exhaustive) in the mine to which they relate. It is quite impossible to make any reasonable comparison of earnings at one mine with those at another at a given period, or of the earnings at the same mine at different periods without an intimate knowledge of all those conditions. It cannot be argued, for example, without reference to possible changes in one or more of a dozen factors, that since the miner's actual daily earnings have increased more (or less) than his standard rate of pay that ho has therefore been working more (or less) intensely or increasing (or decreasing) his output per day. The relation of output per miner per shift to actual earnings is similarly complicated It is possible, for example, for the miner's output to fall, whilst his actual earnings are rising quite apart from any increase in the standard rate of pay. This may be due to his working during the latter period at a place where more " yardage " is paid (low coal or narrow or steep places), or working on development operations, or in wet places, or in places necessitating much picking-out of stone, for which considerable allowance is made. One or two examples may be cited. If a miner works first at a 10 ft. place at 2s. 4d. and then at a 4 ft. place at 3s. 6d. to 45., the earnings of the low place will in all probability be higher than those of the high place, although the output per shift is lower in the former case. Two pairs of miners working eleven shifts per man for the same fortnight in the same mine (March, 1918) may bo compared : — Wages. .Bonus. Total. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. A and B fill 689 skips at 9d. .. .. 25 13 9 4 910 30 3 7 C and D fill 488 skips at 9d. .. .. 18 6 0 C and D out 37 ft. at 2s. .. .. 314 0 C and D out 43 ft. at Is. Bd. .. .. - 3 11 8 C and D trucking .. . . ..399 C and D 4 sets timber . . . . .. 0 10 0 5 3 0 34 14 5 C and D earn £4 10s. 10d. more than A and B although their output is over 6 tons loss in the fortnight.

A B ] Mine. Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Increase in Increase in Increase in Actual Actual Kate of Pay. Earnings Weekly per Shift. Earnings. 16J 28i 36| 164 35i 37 Increase or Increase Decrease or in Shifts Decrease Ilemarks. worked per in Output per Week Shift, per Miner. Cwt. +J* Same Same +23 cwt.* Much higher proportion of high coal. +17* Shorter travelling.distance ; higher coal; slightly larger proportion of pillar work. —Jt —15. Loss pillar and more solid workings. -it -If +33-8* For period 1915-18 only. +|* +22-7* Much pillar extraction; less travelling. C 16i 33 15 D E F G 16i 28 12 164 33 40 16i 3. 171 37 48. H 1 16_ L6i • 22 16 + 7* — _■■(• .. Hewing rate increased by 2d. more than 174 per cent.; travellingdistance increased; moj-e headings, for which better returns. J K '.'. ie. 22J 32 ■ -4-2f + §•* — 7f Larger proportion of men on development work; larger number of yardage places; inferior explosives. ■ ! * Inorei rse. f Decrease.