'This could be breakdown' as miners see Heath DEADLOCK OVER PIT PAY

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE IN A dramatic move after over nearly I1 hours of talks at the Department of Employment last night, the entire executive of the National Union of Mineworkers went to Downing St to see premier Edward Heath.

As he left the Employ- the miners if they ment Department, gen- their luck too far. eral secretary Lawrence At 10 a.m. yesterday Daly said they were NUM President Joe Gorminsisting on the extra £1 ley and secretary Lawrence for surfacemen and low- went with the TUC secrepaid underground work- Carr's St Tamac Sauare ers.

Asked if this meant breakdown, he said: "This could possibly be sa. We will have to see what Mr. Heath says.

They are the first group of workers ever to see Heath during a strike. The Cabinet was in session when they got their call.

Earlier the union men were encouraged in their 1L .:. push for more pay by a concession from the Coal Board of an extra week's holiday.

The Board also adult rate at 18.

These were both aspects of the original claim on which Wilberforce made no specific recommendaBesides the position of low-paid workers, many miners are also dissatisfied that Lord Wilberforce and his team have done little more than place them back where they were in the pay league table in the early 1960s.

Department of Employment officials were last night trying to save part of the government's face by warning of a public opinion backlash against THREE OF THE YS MARCHERS LOOK AT A COMMEMORATING THE JARROW CRUSADE tary Victor Feather to headquarters.

Coal Board chairman Derek Ezra arrived there with Confederation of British Industry director-general W. O. Campbell Adamson.

They were all given a copy of the inquiry report drawn up by Lord Wilberforce. He recommends increases of £5 on the surface, £6 underground and £4.50 at the face in a 16month deal backdated to November 1 last.

But the report contains the clearest warning that the settlement will be paid for in miners' jobs next year.

In the original claim, the miners demanded £8 for surface workers, £9 for underground men and £5 for those at the face. They also wanted better holidays and adult rates for 17,000 under 18 miners-on which the inquiry team makes no recommendation.

The proposed deal would end on February 28, 1973, but the start of negotiations in November would not be ruled out.

While there are no specific productivity schemes, the report says that the Coal Board and the union should start talks by the end of March on a new productivity scheme.

Talks should be completed by September.

Lord Wilberforce: and his team also issue a warning that the future of jobs in the industry will depend on raising productivity.

They throw into the government's court the responsibility of finding the money to pay for the settlement. And they say that the extent to which the added cost will be reflected in price increases will depend on the rate at which productivity rises.

It is here that the threat of pit closures becomes specific.

There is no 'special magic', the report says in current output level of 130—140 million tons a year.

'Contraction, if it must come, would reflect the closure of the least efficient collieries and greater concentration on those operating at a profit.' While immediate closures are unlikely because of the Coal Board's desire to rebuild its stocks, these would certainly start again in earnest next year. • COALFIELD COM -MENT FORCE PANI WILBERAND WAGES TABLE p.12. Liners lead Dr Joe Gormley and mamence DanDy sald they were still pressing for £6 and {7 for underground and surface Miss De INDEPENDENT MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette Devlin was yesterday sentenced-for a second time—to six months' imprisonment. She was appearing in Belfast along with 12 other civil rights marchers for taking part in an illegal march on Christmas Day 1971.

All 13 have been released on £100 bail pending appeal.

Miss Devlin was last in prison in 1970 for throwing stones at troops in Londonderry.

In an unsworn statement, Miss Devlin said: 'I have been tried before heavily armed police and army - the rorces of British imperialism.' She referred internees and political prisoners and said: contend that the law in this state is itself illegal. Her act ions had been legal and justified.

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