Absenteeism in the Pits
" It is a minority," said the chairman of the Coal Board when he addressed the annual conference of the National Union of Mineworkers on Wednesday, " which hinders the endeavours of the majority and draws criticism upon the industry." Thanks to this minority it looks as if a great many householders are going to have a chilly time of it this winter; and if ice and snow are in evidence for any length of time industry may come uncomfortably close to collapse, so narrow is the margin of safety. It is the national economy itself which is endangered by this minority. Indiscriminate criticism of the miners is worse than useless, and in fact the delegates to the N.U.M. conference have shown throughout their meetings a sense of responsibility and an awareness of the dangers ahead. They listened attentively to Sir William Lawther's blunt warning that without increased production the hopes for further improvements would fail; they heard Sir Hubert Houldsworth say the same thing less bluntly; and they decided not to press their claim for higher wages. But the problem of the irresponsible minority remains, and it has been growing. It is absenteeism more than any other factor which keeps production down. In spite of greater attendance on Saturdays, the average number of shifts worked per man during the first six months of this year has been three fewer than during the same period last year. If this continues into the autumn the industry will have lost, as compared with 1952, a week's output through absenteeism. Attendance has become more irregular, and such irregularity, Sir Hubert pointed out, disorganises all pit operations. In the face of the threat of crisis the Government has done what it can by lowering the price ,of the poorest ,coal: whatever coal there is must be distributed wisely. But the answer to the problem is not to be supplied by either the Government or the Coal Board: it is only in the pit that it will be found.
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