34

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

January 2, 1914.

UM WAGES.

North of Englando

A special council meeting of the Northumberland
Miners’ Association has been convened for January 17,
for the purpose of again discussing the question of the
three-shift system. This decision seems to indicate that
further negotiations are to be opened up with the mine-
owners. On Tuesday it was announced that the Miners’
Federation executive had recommended the Northum-
berland Association to bring out on strike the men at
the three-shift collieries in order to secure the abolition
of the system, and had promised the support of the
federation. Mr. Straker, corresponding secretary of the
Northumberland Miners’ Association, has since denied
the statement.

A notice terminating all engagements with coal
hewers and workers on the roads in the No. 2 Three-
quarter seam and the Yard seam was posted at the pit-
head at the Bertha Colliery, near Maryport, last week.
The colliery is the property of the Flimby and Broughton
Moor Colliery and Fire Brick Company. Nearly the
whole of the night shiftmen also received notice,
and several out of the south side Three-quarters.
The surface workers have all been given a 14-days’
notice, the company’s intention most probably being to
select the required hands to carry on the work. The
managers assert that the miners are entirely responsible
for the stoppage, through irregular working. They have
endeavoured by different measures to induce and even
compel the men to work on Mondays, but with little
effect. It was stated by the under-manager that the
company has had an average loss in output of about
50 tons per day.

The result of the voting of the Northumberland
Miners’ Association on the various questions discussed
at the recent council meeting have been made known.
The question of increased contributions has been con-
sidered for the second time this year and again nega-
tived by the lodges. On the present occasion the
executive committee recommended at the council meet-
ing that the contributions of full members be raised
from 6d. a fortnight to 9d. a fortnight, and that the
contributions of half-members be increased from 3d. to
4Jd. per fortnight. The council, however, defeated this
resolution by 43 votes to 20, and accepted another reso-
lution from Eccles lodge, which was in similar terms
to that of the executive’s, but with the difference that it
exempted surface men from the suggested increased
rate. The following are the votings :—Executive Com-
mittee’s resolution: For, 61; against, 470; on Eccles
lodge resolution : For, 220 ; against, 299.

The important resolution relative to asking the
Miners’ Federation to call a conference of miners, rail-
waymen, transport workers, &c., with a view to an agree-
ment whereby, on one party being locked out or on
strike, the others shall “ down tools,” was defeated in
the council meeting, but is carried on the proxy vote by
316 to 312. Other decisions are against the abolition of
free houses and coals, against a strike to abolish “ haff
Saturday” working, in favour of a week’s holiday in the
year, in favour of approaching the Government to ask
for the appointment in future of 20 mines’ inspectors
from the men’s ranks, against limiting the power of the
Board of Trade to interfere in wages disputes, and
against the abolition of piecework in mines. The motion
that the coalowners be asked for an allowance of 3s.
weekly for house-rent for men living in rented-houses,
and that, if the request be declined, a ballot be taken as
to whether men shall strike to enforce the claim was
carried by 412 to 216. The motion to initiate a national
movement for the abolition of piecework in mines was
negatived.

Federated Area.

The annual meeting of the council of the Yorkshire
Miners’ Association concluded at Barnsley on the 22nd
ult., after sitting four days. A good deal of considera-
tion had been paid to alteration of rules and questions
of policy, but Mr. J. Wadsworth, M.P., said no public
statement would be made on that matter. It was
decided to give support to the proposed light railway
scheme which is being promoted by the Urban District
Council for a tramway for Barnsley by way of Womb-
well, Wath and Thurnscoe. The council decided to hold
a demonstration on Saturday, June 20 next, the venue
to be a Yorkshire seaside resort, which would be selected
by the branches.

At the council meeting of the South Derbyshire
Miners’ Union last week, the president said the owners
had agreed to the minimum wage, and yet there was not
one colliery in the district where it was adhered to. If
there was not constant interference by union officials
the lads were paid less than the proper rate, and
advances were held after they were due. Owners had
also agreed to 4s. 2d. for banksmen per day, and yet
3s. 6d. only was paid in some instances.

The miners’ representatives on the Lancashire and
Cheshire Joint District Board, under the Coal Mines
Minimum Wage Act, have given notice of their desire
to see certain changes made in the award which was
drawn up for the district after the passing of the Act,
and signed by Judge Bradbury, who was then the
independent chairman of the board, and the members.
The principal points of the men’s application are that
the minimum shall be raised to 7s. a day when the
standard rate is 50 per cent, above the basis, instead of
6s. 6d. as at present; that contractors’ men shall have
the benefit of the minimum rate; that the minimum
shall be paid on a weekly instead of a fortnightly basis,
and that at collieries where Saturday is a shorter
working day than other days of the week, day wage
hands shall be paid a quarter of a day’s wage if they
have to “ play ” at the wish of the employer. A meeting
of the board without the chairman (Judge Mellor, K.C.,
who was appointed to the position on the death of Judge
Bradbury) will be held in Manchester on Monday next.

It was reported at a meeting of colliery enginemen
and firemen in the South Staffs and East Worcester

district that the negotiations with reference to the inter-
pretation of the agreement entered into last J une had
broken down and that five men were being employed at
Lord Dudley’s Himley collieries at lower than the
specified rates, and that five were on notice. It was
decided to take a ballot with a view to calling all the
men out.

It is stated that unless the recent judgment of the
Court of Appeal in the case of Richards and Davis v. the
Wrexham and Acton Colliery Company is reversed by
a higher tribunal, it is likely to lead to trouble among
fillers all over the country, as well as in North Wales.
The executive of the North Wales Miners’ Association
has accordingly decided to ask the Miners’ Federation
of Great Britain to take the appeal to the House of
Lords.

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

The miners of this district, particularly those of the
lower-paid classes, secure an improvement of their
standard rates, under the operation of Lord St. Aldwyn’s
revised award, issued this week, and certain sections of
the men who were not previously graded have been
classified, the rates in respect of these to be reckoned as
coming into operation from September 30 last. It was
in August that the questions now disposed of came
before the District Board established under the Mini-
mum Wage Act, both sides requiring amendment of the
independent chairman’s award of July 1912. The
owners’ demand was that the rate for boys under 14J
should be reduced by 2d., and this has been conceded.
Upon the men’s demands Lord St. Aldwyn makes
concession in nearly every case, though not to the
extent which was sought. For colliers m charge of a
working place, and for timbermen, repairers, and
rippers doing timbering, the minimum has been increased
by Id.; night hauliers and trimmers get an increase of
Id. per day; and the lower-paid men—about 22,000 in
number—get 2d. per day. An alteration in the rules
works also to the men’s advantage, for it provides that
where a man has worked full time during the previous
“ pay,” he shall not forfeit his right to the minimum
because of one day’s absence. The following is the text
of Lord’s St. Aldwyn’s award relative to the classifica-
tion of new grades of workmen:—

New Classification.

The minimum rate of wages shall be the standard rate
hereinafter fixed for each class of underground workmen, to
which is to be added the percentage from time to time
payable under the Conciliation Board agreement of 1910,
for workmen over 21 years of age (standard rate of day
wage) :—Bottom cutters (cutting hard bottom), 4s.; bottom
cutters (cutting soft bottom), 3s. 7d.; assistant bottom
cutters, 3s. 4d.; sheafmen, rollermen, and pulleymen, 3s. 6d.;
underground banksmen (at vertical shafts) (A) leading,
3s. 9d.; (B) assistants, 3s. 4d. ; underground winding
enginemen (at vertical shafts), 3s. lOd.; pipemen, 3s. 4d.;
rope changers (other than shacklers), 3s. 9d.; shimmers
(employed handling trams through the slums at pit bottom),
3?. 4d.; jig hitchers (at top and bottom of inclines), 3s. 6d.;
wallers m working face, 3s. 4d. It was agreed by the
Board that these rates should come into force as from
September 29, 1913.

It was decided by my casting vote not to vary Schedule 1,
Part 1, Class 1, of my award of the 5th July, 1912, by the
omission of the words proposed to be omitted from Items 1
and 2, and not to add the condition proposed by the work-
men to Part 3 of the said schedule.

List of Variations.

And whereas the said Joint District Board has failed to
deal with the other variations applied for within three
weeks of the expiration of the notices for applications to
vary the minimum wages or district rules, now I, Viscount
St. Aldwyn, in pursuance of the terms of the Coal Mines
(Minimum Wage) Act, 1912, having heard the parties, do
hereby decide that the minimum rates of wages and district
rules settled by my award dated the 5th July, 1912, shall
be varied as follows:—

SCHEDULE I.—PAST I.

Class I.

Item 2.-— By varying the standard rate of day wage of
4s. 3d. fixed as payable to a collier in charge of a working
place, who is not a worker at piecework to the standard rate
of 4s. 4d.

Item 4—By varying the standard rate of day wage of
4s. 3d. fixed as payable to timbermen and repairers or
rippers doing timbering work, not being regular piece-
workers, to the standard rate of 4s. 4d.

Items 9, 10, 11, 18.—By varying the standard rate of day
wages of 3s. 2d. fixed by the said award as payable to
ostlers, labourers, subsidiary haulage men, small-pumpmen,
shacklers, spragmen, and watermen to the standard rate of
3s. 4d.

Item 19.—By varying the standard rate of day wage of
3s. fixed by the said award as payable to lamplockers,
lamplighters, and oilers to the standard rate of 3s. 2d.

Class II.

By omitting the words, “ Boys under 15 years of age,
Is. 6d.,” and inserting the words,“ Boys over 14 and under
14| years of age, Is. 4d.; and under 15, Is. 6d.”

Class III.

By varying the standard rate of day wage of 3s. 8d. fixed
in the said award as payable to night hauliers above 18 years
of age to the standard rate of 3s. 9d.

By varying the standard rate of day wage of 3s. 3d. fixed
by the said award as payable to trammers above 18 years of
age to the standard rate of 3s. 4d.

SCHEDULE 2. DISTRICT RULES.

Bule 5.—By inserting after the words “ working by
accident or illness ” the following words:—“ Provided tnat a
workman in a colliery open for work for less than six days
in any pay shall not forfeit his right to wages at the
minimum rate by absence from the* colliery not caused by
accident or illness for one day during that pay, if he has
worked on every day during the previous pay on. which the
colliery was open for work and he was not prevented by
accident or illness from working.”

The above variations shall commence to operate at and
from the date of this award. (Signed) St. Aldwyn.

December 26tb, 1913.

Foreshadow of a difficulty that is likely to become
widespread may be observed in an incident at South

Cambria Colliery. It was reported to the monthly
meeting of Pontypridd miners that 225 men of that
colliery had been idle for a week on a question of price
list for a new seam which is being opened out. The
men demanded payment in accordance with the new
schedule which the Federation has fixed for the whole
coalfield; but the management declined to accede, and
work was stopped. The Federation Executive will now
be appealed to. This is only one incident of several that
are similar, all indicating the trouble likely to arise from
endeavour to establish the rates of the new schedule.
At the same meeting it was decided to suspend the
proposal for appointing colliery examiners by the district,
the reason assigned being that their salaries could not
be paid unless contributions were increased.

The Federation executive have decided to take up the
case of the banksmen; and as to these Mr. Vernon
Hartshorn, one of the miners’ leaders, observes that
the question does not affect more than four or five men
at a colliery, and if settled on generous lines the cost
would be trifling; “ yet for months the coalowners have
been niggling over individual cases ; . . . for months
they insisted upon discussing the hours to be worked;
. . . for a further considerable period they confined
the discussion to the duties to be performed; . . .
and when the workmen’s representatives came to terms
on hours and duties, they made wage proposals which
were nothing but an insult.”

Scotland.

Circulars have been issued to the miners in all the
districts of Mid and East Lothian pointing to the
necessity of increasing the weekly contribution from 3d.
to 6d. It is proposed that upon raising the contribution
from 3d. to 6d. per week to still allow 10 per cent, to be
returned to branches, which will double their present
income, and enable local committees to deal more
effectually with local questions. It is also proposed
that the strike benefit be raised from 10s. per week to
12s. per week for full members. The Fife and Kinross
Association, after a ballot vote, started to pay 6d. per
week as from December 12.

At the monthly meeting of the Executive Board of
the Fife and Kinross Miners’ Association, at Dunferm-
line this week, it was intimated that an overwhelming
majority had adopted the rules as amended by the
executive some time ago. The Board had again under
consideration the question of the members wearing
badges in order to distinguish them from non-union
members. It was agreed that the wearing of badges
should come into force at the beginning of March.

Miners’ Federation of Great Britain.

Details of the Miners’ Federation vote card on the
question of adopting a five days’ working week through-
out the whole of the British coalfield have now been
issued officially, the figures being :—In favour: Notts,
28,000; Derbyshire, 33,000; Leicester, 7,000; Cumber-
land, 6,000; Bristol, 2,000; North Wales, 10,000;
Northumberland. 38,000; Scotland, 75,000; Durham,
99,000; Forest of Dean, 3,000—total, 301,000. Against :
Yorkshire, 90,000 ; Lancashire, 70,000 ; Midland Federa-
tion, 50,000; South Wales, 103,000; Cleveland, 9,000;
South Derby, 4,000—total. 326,000.

The efforts in progress for the formation of a combination
in the galvanised corrugated sheet trade have met with
success, and every maker in the country has now consented
to j fin. The weakness of the old organisation, which came
to an end in February 1910, lay in the fact that only a
proportion of the makers belonged to it, and some of those
outside were amongst the largest producers. The new
association will differ from the old one in several important
features. There will be no official selling price, and each
member will be left to make his own terms with customers,
but there will be a strict control of the output. The new
arrangement provides that as soon as prices fall below a level
at which they cease to be remunerative by reason of the
scarcity of orders or any other cause, the output of the
various works shall be reduced until the lost ground has
been recovered. The object of the association is to check
the ruinous competition from which the trade has suffered
during the last few years. It is hoped that the association
will be in full working order early in the now year.

Messrs. Cairns, Noble and Co., of Newcastle-on-Tyne, have
opened an office at Commercial-buildings, Scale-lane, Hull,
with sub-offices at Grimsby and Immingham, under the
management of Mr. M. B. Henderson.

We learn that the Belgian Government have this week
signed the authorisation approving of the use in Belgium of
the Hailwood oil lamp and also the Hailwood naphtha lamp
as manufactured by Messrs. Ackroyd and Best Limited,
Morley, England. The Belgian Government tests are far
more severe than the British Government tests, natural
gas from the Grand Trait Mine being employed in the gas
tests, the lamp being subjected to most explosive mixtures
of this gas and air at velocities of 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
metres per second, which is equal to from 984 ft. per minute
to 2,950 ft. per minute—the whole series of the tests being
repeated in horizontal currents; downwardly descending
currents at an angle of 45 degs.; upwardly ascending
currents at an angle of 45 degs.; vertical ascending currents;
and vertical descending currents. These authorisations
are especially interesting as the Belgian Government will
not now add new lamps to their list unless they show special
merit, and the details of the lamp are scrutinised very
severely.

Messrs. William Firth Limited advise us that after a
period of 45 years, they have removed their offices from
Water-lane, Leeds, to a more central position in the same
city—Greek-street Chambers—where they hope to be in a
position to deal not only with their old established business
in steel girders, rails, bars, &c, but also their second-hand
contractor's plant and machinery department, hitherto
conducted from the Doncaster branch, which latter will now
only serve as a depot and stores.

A special course of advanced lectures, commencing on
January 19, will be given at the Imperial College of
Science and Technology by Mr. T. Bickard, A B S.M.,
M Inst.M.M., on “The Application of Geology to Mining.”