894

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

October 29, 1915.

LABOUR AND WAGES.

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

With regard to disputed points in the new Conciliation
Board agreement, Sir Laurence Gomme was appointed by
the Board of Trade as arbitrator, and on Tuesday he sat
at Cardiff and heard representations by Mr. James Winstone,
president of the Federation. Only one point was submitted
at this sitting, and that, it was stated, affected 15 per cent,
of the workmen. The question relates to payments claimed
as due to underground workmen, who urge that the rules of
Lord St. Aldwyn’s award do not apply to them; one rule
being that unless they work five-sixths of the time, they are
not entitled to the minimum wage. Their claim is to be
paid the new rate without regard to the rules. Mr. W.
Stewart and Mr. Hugh Bramwell submitted the employers’
contentions, and urged the need of ensuring greater
regularity of work. The arbitrator postponed his decision.

At a meeting of the Monmouthshire and South Wales
Enginemen, Stokers, and Craftsmen’s Association, at
Cardiff, the secretary presented a report as to negotiations
with the coal owners in order to secure better conditions of
labour, as well as an advance of wages; and the report was
adopted, being considered satisfactory. A new sub-agent
us to be appointed in the place of the two agents who went
over to the Miners’ Federation.

The Enginemen, Stokers, and Craftsmen’s Association
submitted proposals to the employers with a view of secur-
ing improved conditions at the collieries for the latter class
of men; and the association executive has met a committee
of the Coal Owners’ Association and discussed the require-
ments presented. Mr. T. H. Deakin, on behalf of the
employers, repeated the statements previously made—
namely, that they could not agree to a general advance in
the wages of surface craftsmen, but would consider any
special cases where it could be shown that the wages were
lower than the average rates of the coal field; upon receipt
of a list of such cases, immediate consideration would be
given. It is understood that this suggestion will be complied
with.

About 6,000 miners were represented at the monthly meet-
ing of the Avon Valley district, held at Port Talbot, and
four branches of the Enginemen and Stokers’ Association
were also represented, these having come over to the Miners’
Federation. It was reported that new price lists had been
arranged satisfactorily during the month at Blaencorrwg,
Oaklands, Duffryn Rhondda (one seam), and Cefn Morfydd.
Some disputes had arisen as a result of misunderstanding
of the new general agreement, and these were discussed upon
a report from the agent. The workmen at Resolven were
given permission to tender notices on account of non-unionists
employed. The meeting decided to bring before the Home
Secretary, and also Mr. T. Richards, M.P., a statement with
regard to Belgians employed at a colliery, as to whom, it
was alleged, deductions were being made from their wages
on account of food, clothing, and lodging.

A stoppage took place at Penrhiwceiber for several days
on account of non-unionists, it being stated that the number
of men “ out of compliance ” with the union was originally
1.20.

It has been decided by the miners of Pontypridd district
that if all the men have not joined the Federation by
November 8, notices shall be tendered at all the collieries in
the district. .

North of England.

The Northumberland Miners’ Association council meet at
Burt Hall this week-end to discuss the possibility of inducing
members to pay increased dues. County wages are now
higher than ever before, being 83 per cent, above the basis
of 1879.

The Cleveland ironstone mine owners met the miners’
representatives at Middlesbrough on Monday, when it was
agreed that 6f per dent, be regarded as the amount of
advance which would have accrued to the miners under
the last lascertainment if the special advance of 15 per cent,
had not been conceded in May last.

Federated Area.

A meeting of the Coal Conciliation Board for England and
North Wales was held on Thursday, to further consider the
men’s application for 5 per cent, advance in wages. Mr.
F. J. Jones, South Yorkshire (chairman), presided. At the
close of the meeting the joint secretaries (Sir T. Ratcliffe-
• Ellis and Mr. Thos. Ashton) reported that the application
of the workmen for an advance in wages had been further
discussed, and, the Board having failed to agree, the matter
is now referred to the decision of the independent chairman
(Lord Coleridge). Our correspondent states the coal owners’
section of the Board still stood by the objection to the appli-
cation raised at the previous meeting—that they had not
recouped themselves under the clause embodied in the new
agreement. This is the point which has been reserved for
the decision of Lord Coleridge at the full meeting of the
Board. It was decided to suggest to Lord Coleridge that
the adjourned meeting be held on either November 11 or 12,
whichever date suits his lordship’s convenience.

4 curious situation has arisen in regard to the motor
ambulance convoy which has been provided by the owners
and miners of the collieries of Notts and Derbyshire. Deduc-
tions for the purpose of providing the funds have been made
from the wages of the members of the Enginemen and
Firemen’s Union, although the latter had not been consulted
on the matter, and now a demand has been made that
no further deductions are to be made until a ballot of the
men has been taken, and their views ascertained.

At a representative meeting of the executive council of the
Lancashire and Cheshire Miners’ Federation, on Saturday,
it was announced that efforts were being made to get all the
non-unionists at present employed at collieries in Lancashire
and Cheshire into the union.

The men of the Brods worth Colliery, near Doncaster,
tendered notices on Saturday, to expire 14 days hence, unless
the management see their way to allow shovels to be sub-
stituted for forks in the colliery. In this matter they are
acting with the approval of their society, the Yorkshire
Miners’ Association. At the same time, the company, while
accepting the notices, informed all non-union men that their
services would cease simultaneously, the notice to the latter
being entirely due to the notices tendered to the company.
The fork question appears to be an old standing grievance at
Brodsworth. It is felt that every effort should be made
to bring about a settlement, as the stoppage of the colliery
would be a serious matter at the present time.

The council of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association met at
Barnsley on Monday and Tuesday. The resignation of Mr.
S. Roebuck (the association’s assistant general secretary) as
Labour candidate for the Doncaster Division was accepted,

and it was decided to take immediate steps to ask the Division
to suggest the name of a candidate to contest the Division in
the interests of Labour.—Mr. J. Wadsworth, the Labour
member for Hallamshire, will not seek re-election, but will
confine his energies to his work as general secretary of the
Yorkshire Miners’ Association.—The report on adjournment
of the Conciliation Board on the question of the proposed
increase of 5 per cent, to miners was viewed with dissatis-
faction, the meeting being of the opinion that the miners
are entitled to the maximum provided for by the Conciliation
Board.—Strike pay was granted to the Halifax branch for
the men out owing, it was alleged, to the owners refusing to
pay the 15| per cent, war bonus.—Further exemption of
contributions was granted to members over 60 years of age,
unable to work, members of the society for over 20 years,
making the total of exemptions of this class 12,000.—Of the
30,000 Yorkshire miners who have joined his Majesty’s
Forces, 440 have laid down their lives. The deaths of the
last 90 of these were reported, and a vote of condolence with
the relatives—to whom the death claims have been paid—
was passed.—Following the meeting, the president (Mr. H.
Smith), in a statement, said that, in accordance with the
undertaking given to the Minister of Munitions by the
Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, the Yorkshire Miners’
Association have submitted the following scheme to the coal
owners in South and West Yorkshire :—

It being the desire of the coal owners and miners in the
Yorkshire area that, during the period of the war, any
alteration in the status quo. with respect 'to the conditions
of work which may tend to disputes, should, so far as is
reasonably practicable, be avoided; in the event of such
dispute arising, the parties shall, in the first instance, try
to settle locally by deputation at the pit, and, failing settle-
ment, the question in dispute shall be referred to the joint
secretaries of the Joint Board, and a meeting called within
seven days of such dispute being reported. Failing a
settlement, the dispute shall be referred to the independent
chairman, who shall be elected by the Joint Board; or,
if they fail to agree, to be appointed by the Board of
Trade, and a meeting shall take place and a decision given
within 14 days of the chairman being called in.

The decision arrived at by the Joint Board so consti-
tuted shall be accepted by and be binding* upon both
parties, it being clearly understood that in any machinery
we fix up for settling disputes the Coal Mining Organi-
sation Committee’s report must be specially kept before us
where it says : “ In the highest interests of the nation it is
especially desirable that during the period of the war the
employers shall co-operate with the representatives of the
workmen on such questions as non-unionism.”

The question of non-unionism, as far as we are con-
cerned, cannot be a question of arbitration. We shall
expect the owners, in all cases where workmen refuse to
join the union, to deal with these persons in an effective
manner, as we cannot be parties to advise our miners to
work with non-unionists.

All expenditure incurred, other than the expense of
representatives, shall be borne equally by the owners’ and
the miners1 representatives.

The subject of absenteeism on the part of the miners was
discussed on Tuesday.—Mr. Smith (president) said the
council was wishful to assist in dealing with the matter in
all directions, and it was decided to ask the owners to give
them a statement of the names of the men complained of,
with the number of shifts lost, and also a list of the men
off work owing to illness, and causes over which the men
had no control. Whilst they (the Miners’ Association) were
willing to play their part to induce men to attend to their
work regularly, they wanted the hearty co-operation of the
owners in doing all that was possible to find men work
when they attended at the pit.—Mr. S. Jacks (Ravens-
thorpe) was appointed a representative in the West York-
shirt Minimum Wage Board, in succession to Mr. B.
Saville (Hartshead), resigned.

Scotland.

A meeting of the Scottish Coal Trade Conciliation Board
was held in Glasgow on Monday, to consider a demand from
the operatives for >an increase in wages of 18| per cent, on
the 1888 basis, equal to 9d. per day. Three advances have
been received since May last, the present rate being
nominally 8s. 6d. per day, or 112J per cent, above the figure
of 1888. The present claim has been put forward on the
ground that the present rate at which coal is selling justifies
a further rise in wages. Mr. Adam Nimmo presided at the
meeting of the Board, and it was stated officially at the
close that parties had failed to come to an agreement, and
the meeting had been adjourned for a fortnight, in accord-
ance with the rules.

Wages During the War.

The advance in rates of wages, which began in 1910, and
reached its culminating point in the first half of 1913, was
followed by a decline in wages in the metal and mining
industries. In the first seven months of 1914 the net effect
of all the changes recorded in the Board of Trade Labour
Gazette, was a decrease in wages of nearly £13,000 a
week.

After the outbreak of war, however, owing to enlist-
ments and an active demand for war requirements,
employment become very good, and before the end of the
year a considerable 'amount of overtime was being worked,
and in several trades complaint was being made of a
shortage of labour. In these circumstances a movement
began at the beginning of 1915 to raise wages. It is
estimated that during the whole period under review about
four and -a-half million workpeople have had their rates
of wages increased by over £750,000 per week.

In the trades in which the numbers affected are ascertained
by the Department from the parties concerned in arranging
the changes, there have been increases reported amounting
to £494,000 per week in the rates of wages of over 2,800,000
workpeople, an average of about 3s. 6d. per head. These
figures relate mainly to organised bodies of workpeople',
and do not cover the numerous cases of advances granted
to a few workpeople by individual employers, which escape
the notice of the Department. Allowing, however, for those
cases in which such employers have given advances on
similar lines to those granted to organised employees in the
locality, it may be assumed that at least three million work-
people an the trades mentioned have had increases
amounting to over £500,000 a week. The estimated weekly
increase in rates of wages in the coal mining industry is
£223,000. The industry has contributed most largely as a
result of the war bonuses granted in all the principal coal
fields in May, and of the subsequent increases in wages in
South Wales and Scotland. In the pig iron and iron and
steel trades, in which fluctuations in wages depend on the
selling price of pig iron and manufactured iron, there have

been increases under sliding scales, with bonuses in several
districts in addition.

Apart, however, from the advances in rates of wages,
many workpeople have received substantial increases in
average weekly earnings owing to the large amount of over-
time worked, to the speeding up of piecework, and to greater
regularity of employment. No figures are available to show
for all industries the effects of this increase; but for certain
trades returns are obtained from employers, giving particu-
lars of the numbers of workpeople employed and the amount
of wages paid in one week in each month. The average
earnings deduced from these returns for recent months do
not afford a strictly accurate comparison with those in
July 1914, for, though they cover as nearly as possible
the same firms as in that month, they do not necessarily
relate to quite the same workpeople. This qualification is
of importance in view of the extent to which men of military
age have been recruited, and the varying degree in which
they have been replaced by the employment of females and
young persons. When due consideration is given to these
factors, however, it is apparent from such figures as are
available that in many of the principal industries the
increases in earnings have been considerably greater than
those in rates of wages.

Labour Disputes in 1914.

Up to the end of July the number of fresh disputes in
1914 showed little diminution compared with the previous
year. Following upon the declaration of war, however,
outstanding disputes were quickly settled, and for the
remainder of the year new disputes were comparatively few
and of little magnitude. The number of disputes recorded
as beginning in the first seven months of the year was
848, and the total number of workpeople involved therein
was 423,550, while for the subsequent five months the
corresponding figures were 151 and 24,979 respectively.
The aggregate duration in working days of all disputes
in progress in the two periods was 9,964,091 and 147,246
respectively. The total number of disputes beginning in
1914 (999) exceeded that recorded in any year except 1913
during the period of 21 years for which comparative statistics
are available. In addition, 51 disputes beginning before
1914, involving 37,934 workpeople, were in progress for
varying periods during the earlier part of the year. The
total number of workpeople involved in disputes beginning
in the year (448,529) was exceeded on only five occasions,
viz., in 1893 and in each of the four years preceding 1914.
The aggregate duration of disputes in working days, though
less than in any of the years 1911-1913, was much above
the average for the year 1893-1910, during which period it
was exceeded on only four occasions. The number of work-
men involved in disputes in the mining and quarrying
industries in 1914 amounted to 272,680 (259,070 in January-
July and 13,610 in August-December), as compared with
214,078 in 1913. With the exception of the mining and
quarrying (industry, all the main groups of trades showed
a decrease in the number of workpeople involved in disputes
in 1914 as compared with the previous year. The increase
in the mining and quarrying industry in 1914 was largely
due to the dispute in the Yorkshire coal field, which involved,
directly and indirectly, 150,000 men, more than half the
total affected in the industry. The annual decrease since
1911 in the number involved in the transport trades is very
noticeable. Nearly one-half (445) of the total number of
disputes in 1914 arose on demands for advances in wages,
but owing entirely to the dispute in the Yorkshire coal
mining industry, strikes against actual or proposed reduc-
tions in wages accounted for a larger number of workpeople
involved. The number of disputes (624) arising on all
wages questions, and the number of workpeople (202,521)
directly involved in such disputes, accounted for nearly
two-thirds of the respective totals for all causes. Questions
respecting the employment of particular classes or persons
gave rise to 184 disputes, and of these 83, directly involving
16,872 workpeople, arose on demands for the reinstatement of
discharged workpeople: and 32, directly involving 4,122
workpeople, on objections to the employment of certain
officials. Of the remaining disputes in this class, 20,
directly involving 1,575 workpeople, were disputes as to
demarcation of work; 83 disputes arose on questions of trade
union principle. Disputes on details of working arrange-
ments (56) accounted for 14,528 workpeople; disputes as to
hours of labour involved 10,908 workpeople; while 10,141
were involved in .sympathetic disputes, .and 8,428 in disputes
arising on miscellaneous questions. The proportion of dis-
putes which, from the point of view of the workpeople, were
entirely successful was 25 per cent., of unsuccessful disputes
33 per cent., and of partially successful or compromised
disputes 42 per cent. In the case of every group of trades,
however, compromised or partially successful disputes
accounted for the greatest number of workpeople directly
involved. The great majority of disputes that occur are
settled by direct arrangement or negotiations between the
parties involved; and in 1914, 732, or nearly three-quarters
of the total number of disputes, directly involving 172,347
workpeople, or more than one-half of the total, were settled
in this manner. Twenty-eight disputes, directly involving
6,699 workpeople, were settled by arbitration; and 58,
directly involving 126,764 workpeople, by conciliation. Of
these 86 disputes, 23 were settled under the Conciliation
Act of 1896. In the case of 112 disputes, directly involving
17,513 workpeople, work was resumed on the employers’
terms without negotiation; and in 60 additional disputes
the 3,010 workpeople involved were replaced by other labour.
Of the remaining 9 disputes other methods'of settlement
were adopted in eight small cases, while in the case of one
dispute no final settlement has yet been reported.

Colliery Enginemen and the Miners’ Federation.

A communication has been issued by the secretary of the
National Federation of Colliery Enginemen and Boilermen,
in. which he says that arising out of the resolutions of the
miners and others at the recent Trade Unions conference at
Bristol, the object of which is to compel all enginemen and
boilermen at collieries to join the Miners’ Federation of Great
Britain, and in view of the declarations of various miners’
leaders that they will insist on all colliery surface workers—
especially enginemen, boilermen, and firemen—joining the
Miners’ Union, an important conference was held at
Manchester on Friday, October 15, of the two great colliery
enginemen’s federations. The object was to devise means
whereby united action could be taken to combat any onslaught
that might be made on the established organisations of these
bodies. Prior to the joint conference, each federation’s
executive committee held a special meeting to decide upon
what lines they could best advise such united action. The
seriousness of the position was so forcibly demonstrated in
South Wales that there was immediate unanimity of
opinion that steps should at once be taken to prevent further