THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 72 __________________________________________________________________________________ January 14, 1916. ___________________________ The Eight Hours Act. At: a . conference between the representatives of the coal owners of Great Britain and the Miners’ Federation of . Great Britain on matters arising out of the First Report, held at the Home Office on September 2 last, at which the Chairman of the Committee presided, the question of the suspension of the Eight Hours Act during the period of. the war was discussed. The workmen’s representatives were of opinion 'that the question of suspension should no; be considered until it was seen how far the joint efforts of owners and workmen to increase output which were to be made had been suc- cessful, and the coal owners’ representatives recognised that suspension could not be usefully employed until the time had arrived when co-operation between ;he parties on the question was possible. This is still the position to-day. Disputes and Stoppages at Collieries. The First ,Report stated that :—“ The basis of all the proposals and suggestions made by the Committee is harmonious. co-operation between employers and employed through the medium of the organisation on both sides thoroughly representative of the parties. this state of affairs will become worse as the movements .of troops and munitions increase. The Committee have therefore considered how far relief could be obtained in the direction of reducing the amount of work required to be overtaken by the locomotive power likely to be available to deal with ;he coal traffic. In this connection they have been advised that considerable advantage would be secured by some system of pooling of traders’ and railway wagons in different districts. They recognise, however, that ;he value of any such proposal would depend upon- the simplicity and efficiency of the system of pooling that might be adopted, and also that it would be most desirable thau the proposed system should, if possible, be adopted with the concurrence of the coal owners and other interested parties in different parts of the country. They recommend, therefore, that without delay ;he railway executive be advised to prepare a scheme of pooling suitable to the different districts, and that it be submitted to the coal owners and others for their con- sideration in the national interest. The Government might consider, upon the situation thus disclosed, as to the advisability of legislation upon the ques.ion. It Supply of Pit Timber. The Committee, recognising the importance to the industry of an adequate supply of pit wood at reason- able prices, have had the question under consideration. They have received information showing that prices of pit wood have risen to a very high level since the out- break of war, and that they have now reached a point likely to materially affect the industry unless some con- trolling influence is interposed. The industry is now being increasingly compelled to draw upon available supplies of home-grown timber, owing to the difficulty of obtaining supplies of foreign timber at workable prices. They propose to conduct further enquiry into the question of the regulation of the supply and price of pit timber, and will report thereon at a later stage. The Committee desire to express their thanks to Mr. A. W. Flux, the Director of the Census of Production Department of the Board of Trade, for kindly under- taking the collection and tabulation of the returns; and to acknowledge again the courtesy of the numerous managers of collieries, who at the cost of considerable trouble, have supplied the necessary information. The appendix to the report gives tables of the amount Table A. Month. For the year 1914. For the year 1915. Number of persons who have joined his Majesty's Forces. Tonnage raised * Number of persons on books. Absentees. Tonnage raised.* Number of persons on books. Absentees. Below ground. (a) ZJ1 - LAbove 1 , ground. (5) 3H LJ Total shifts which could have been worked by (a) and (b). Actual shifts worked by (a) and (o). Per- centage of absentees. Below ground. (a) Above ground. (b) Total shifts which could have been wor ked by (a) and (b). Actual shifts worked by (a) and (b). Per- centage of absentees. March April May June July August Tons. 21,542,288 23,027,943 24,426,206 20,488,321 19,150,568 16,030,858 834,702 831,551 834,885 833,604 827,764 801,667 182,381 182,254 182,407 182,414 181,393 178,306 23,841,916 20,585,308 23,502,145 21,332,444 22,884,756 18,692,837 21,238,371 18,515,633 21,166,919 19,098,915 2o,451,388 16,595,658 Per cent. 10’9 10T 9*9 10-5 10-6 11’2 Tons. 19,075,189 22,613,382 22,558,183 18,556,001 17,218,149 17,549,892 702,629 696,007 691,015 687,578 685,511 682,440 168,032 167,441 167,552 166,788 166,440 166,207 21,783,497 19,868,113 20,131,992 20,843,148 20,055,030 19,803,317 19,537,585 17,866,430 18,161,432 , 18,894,940 18,144,260 17,799,911 Per cent. 10’3 10’1 9-8 9-3 9 5 10’1 (1) March 1915 to August 1915: 52,058 5 2 per cent. (2) August 1914 to August 1915: 235,332 23'3 per cent. Total for March to August 1914 10-5 Total for March to August 1915 9-9 * The tonnage of coal raised was furnished independently of the other particulars and relates to the following p'eriods:—Four weeks ended March 27, five weeks ended May 1, five weeks ended June 5, four weeks ended July 3, four weeks ended July 31, and four weeks ended August 28 in the year 1915, and to the corresponding periods of the year 1914. Unless the organisations possess this power and -are able to., ace with authority for both owners and workmen, friction may al’is-e and stoppages of work take place which ought to be avoided at the present time to the utmost extent possible. In the highest, interests of the nation it' is especially -desirable that during the period of the war the employers should co-operate with the repre- sentatives of the workmen on such questions as non- unionism, or other questions likely to,lead to any friction or stoppage during the present unprecedented circum- stances.” Tn this connection the Committee have, through the medium of the Mining Association of Great Britain, and the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, drawn the attention of coal owners and workmen in the various colliery districts to what is being done towards meeting local disputes and allaying causes of friction, and have urged upon them the desirability of adopting measures with a similar object, namely, to reduce absenteeism and put a stop to friction in those districts in which, so far,, little has been done in this direction. One suggestion forthcoming was that a periodical return of absenteeism, say, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, might be. kept in respect of each mine, and a copy sent by the manager, on the termination of each period, to the secretaries of the local associations of owners' and workmen respectively; the absenteeism return being only in respect of those days on which the coal was wound at the mine. Again, sometimes, joint committees of the management and the workmen have been established to watch the rates of absenteeism, and to endeavour to bring about a more regular attendance at work. This appears to be a wise mode of procedure, and one that may be commended. The Committee has had placed before them a form of agreement entered into between the owners and the workmen at the mines in Lancashire* with a view to preventing the occurrence of disputes, or a state of friction during the war. Such an agreement, it is thought, might, with advantage, be considered by organisations of masters and men in the other mining districts. Re-organisation at the Mines. From information received from time to time, the Committee is satisfied that a good deal has been done in concentrating the work of getting coal in the easier places in the mines, and in postponing developments and renewals which would in ordinary course have been pro- ceeded with, and which will ultimately have to be carried out., Improvement in Transport. This is a matter which has been engaging anxious attention, as collieries have been standing at intervals for lack of transport, both railway and shipping. Considering land transport in the first instance, the Committee realise the great difficulties that the railway management has had to contend with, and■ understand that these difficulties will be increased in the near future by reason of military exigencies. The Committee have been in communication with Mr. Marwood, of the Board of Trade, and also with the representatives of the railway management, and learn from them that transit facilities are being materially affected, by lack of available locomotive power, and that * The -substance of this agreement was given in the Colliery Guardian, October 8, 1915, p. 742. should be understood that any such scheme would • of coal produced, the number of persons employed, and operate only during the period of the war. Lack of tonnage at the South Wales ports has of late operated adversely on the coal trade of that district. Many of the mines lately have lost several days a week solely through want of ships to carry away the coal under order. Owing to the physical character of the country, at few collieries in South Wales is it possible to s.ack the coal, and even were it possible to stack it, there would be a considerable loss through breakage and weathering. The scarcity of tonnage is due to several causes, among which may be enumerated—• (a) Requisitioning of vessels by the British and French Governments for naval and military purposes. _______ (5) Delays in discharging at foreign ports owing to the state of congestion prevailing there. (c) British vessels working between foreign ports owing to (1) high freights. which can be earned ... thereby; (2) less risk of being requisitioned by the Admiralty. The Committee are not in a position to judge as to how far this situation could be improved by some control ......... over shipping being exercised, but they are informed that, without prejudice either to international considera- tions or to the other carrying trade of the country, ships might be compelled to trade between home and foreign ports in the interest of the coal industry. If, however, there is any possibility of improvement in this direction the matter might very profitably be made the subject ....... of expert enquiry, and the Committee recommend that such enquiry should take place. Disposal of the Coal. It has already been shown that the reduction of the output during the first 12 months of the war amounted i-o about 30 million tons. The following table shows how the output has been disposed of :— August 1913 to July 1914. Tons. 281,076,000 ... 76,065,0001 .. ......... 21,162,000 ... the amount of absenteeism at coal mines in the various counties during March to August in the years 1914 and 1915, and also the number of men who have joined his Majesty’s Forces. These are summarised in Table A. Table B gives a comparative statement of the number of shifts worked per person during the five months, March to July inclusive, in the years 1914 and 1915. Table B. County. England- Chester ....... Cumberland.... Derby......... Durham....... Gloucester .... Kent ......... Lancaster...... Leicester ..... Monmouth*.... N orthumberland ......... Nottingham.... Salop ......... Somerset ..... North Stafford .. South Stafford .. Warwick ...... Worcester...... York*___......... Output* ...... Exports! ...... Foreign bunkers August 1914 to July 1915. Tons. . 250,357,000 . 46,458,000 14,934,000 ' Total .......... Wales— Brecon*...... Carmarthen* . ................. Denbigh..... Flint........................... Glamorgan*.... Pembroke.... Average number of shifts actually , worked per person on the books in the five months March to July. 1914. 116 106 97 101 100 104 95 96 105 102 92 97 112 102 99 102 108 87 97 97 106 105 112 107 118 1915. 116 111 110 106 120 114 108 114 108 105 104 111 120 111 111 112 115 106 108 99 110 113 121 109 121 Balance for home use and Admiralty __............. 183,849,000 ... 188,965,000 * Including estimates in respect of pits, returns from which were not received, but not output at quarries. f Including the estimated coal equivalent of coke and patent fuel exported. The following further facts are of importance :— The export to Russia, Germany, Belgium, Austria- Hungary, and Turkey, equal in the aggregate, in normal times, about 18| million tons. France (recently), Denmark, and Norway have increased their imports of coal—particularly France. There have been decreased quantities imported from the United Kingdom by Spain, Italy, Egypt, and particularly South America and the islands of the Pacific. The Committee have reason to believe that the demand is now no less than it was during the pre-war period, for though collieries have been held up for want of transport facilities, they have heard of no instance of a colliery standing idle for lack of orders. Whilst the demand for coal in some directions may be less, in others it is undoubtedly greater than usual, and without dpubt the requirements of -the Royal Navy are greatly in advance of those of normal times,. Total ......:............... Scotland— Ayr......................... Edinburgh .................. Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan ... Haddington__................... Lanark ...................... Linlithgow .................. Stirling ...................... Argyll, Dumbarton, Dumfries and Refifrew.................... 107 109 107 109 98 102 98 103 101 104 111 110 104 106 105 110 108 108 101 96 99 106 88 108 Total ... Ireland ....... United Kingdom ............... * Employment was affected by disputes in the year 1914 in the case of Yorkshire, and in 1915 in the South Wales and Monmouth district. Table C shows the average number of shifts worked in each period of the six months March to August inclusive. Table C. Month. 1915. 1914. Increase in 1915. March 22’41 ... 20’88 ... 1-56 April 20-69 ... 18-26 ... 2-43 May 21-15 ... 20-81 ... 0’34 June 22-12 ... 18-80 .:. 3’32 July 2T30 ... 20’27 ... 1’03 August ... 20-97 ... 16’93 4’04 Total—Six months 128-67 115’95 12’72