FOR THIS

The Newsletter, vol. 3 no. 105, 6 June 1959 · scan page 4

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HAMSTEAD MINERS SAY: ‘WE WON’T STAND THOUGH miners at Hamstead colliery went back to work after a three-day strike, while negotiations took place with the Coal Board, they insist that they will be satisfied with nothing less than the removal of the deputy who is alleged to have struck a workman.

In a statement to The Newsletter on behalf of the strikers, lodge secretary Bro. Phillips said:

‘When Leslie Forrt tried to deal with problems affecting thirty-one face workers, and met with obstruction from the deputy, he phoned the manager for permission for me to come down the pit to negotiate.

‘The manager refused permission, and as Bro. Forrt turned from the phone the deputy struck him in the face.’ . Bro. Arkell, another lodge committee member, added: ‘When the men saw Leslie’s face all covered with blood, naturally they all walked out.’

‘Mass meetings of all the men have been held,’ Bro. Phillips went on, ‘and the demand is for the removal of this deputy. - We do not think he is a fit and proper person to be in charge of men.’

Other miners say that this deputy was continually abusing and shouting at the men under him, and that in any case ‘things have been boiling up at this colliery for quite a while on all sorts of issues’.

One miner told me: ‘We had one of our men strike an area manager four years ago. He was sacked on the spot. But when a deputy strikes a miner he gets away with it—if the Coal Board has its way.’

Others complained about attempts to reduce wages by means of the various price lists on work schedules.

TARGETS

No confidence in commission They also want to ensure that no unauthorized overtime is worked and to ensure continuity of employment on the site.

A leaflet issued by the campaign committee declares:

‘We have no confidence in the disputes commission. This body consists of three employers and three trade union representatives. A majority on both sides is necessary to reach a decision. We hardly think that the building employers can be relied on to provide a majority for our point of view.’

FOOTNOTE. The Token sackings took place only two weeks after the Token workers, by taking strike action, secured the reinstatement on another site of three carpenters sacked on the ground of redundancy.

BUILDING WORKERS’ OWN STRENGTH WILL