EARLY DAY STRIKES IN BROKEN HILL
1892 strike. As the year progressed, silver and lead prices fell alarmingly and the companies stated that higher production was required to offset the drop in revenue. The mine managers decided, 'on economic grounds' to terminate the 1890 agreement which had prohibited the stoping of ore by contract. Notice to that effect was given on June 27. A mass meeting of 6,000 unionist was held at the Central Reserve on Sunday,July 3, when it was decided that all employees on the mines would be called out on strike. Mining by contract was referred to as the'stope sweating system' where workers toiled,'their bodies wrecked and their bloom of ligone, through poisonous gases and lead'. A defense 'committee' was formed,a system of pickets introduced, and food depots were set up around the town. The issue of food coupons depended upon the picket duty performed by each unionist. The day after the strike commenced,flamboyant Colonel Cecil Morgan,the American born manager of the British Mine, drove a provision train to the mine through the picket lines. Police reinforcements were requested from Sydney in anticipation of disturbances. The manager of the Block 14 mine, (who also was chairman of the Mining Managers's Association) Zebina Lane was burned in effigy in Argent Street. Richard Sleath, the dynamic secretary of the Amalgamated Miner's Association, purchased one B.H.P. share and attended a shareholder's meeting in Melbourne. He made a plea on behalf of the striking miners, but the meeting upheld the action of the directors in abrogating the agreement. Of Sleath,J.L.Purves,Q.C., who also was present at the meeting,commented sarcastically, 'I see no signs of lead poisoning about him. His hands are whiter than mine. He is a bell wether, who makes a good deal of noise to earn a living'.
On August 16 the companies issued a statement that the mines would be re-opened on August 25. In the capital cities, unemployment was rife,with the result that 'free labourer's (referred to as 'scabs' or blacklegs') began arriving at Broken Hill in large numbers. Striking miners stoned the train-loads of free labourers as they arrived in Broken Hill. There were demonstrations and fiery speeches and, on September 13,seven strike leaders were arrested for 'unlawful conspiracy and inciting riot's. At the trial held at Deniliquin six men--R.Sleath, E.J.Polkinghorne, R.A.Hewitt, John Bennett, W.J.Ferguson and H.Heberle- were found guilty and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment. The seventh union leader, G.Hurn,was acquitted. Within two months of the commencement of the strike there were 1,500 imported labourers working at the mines, and the numbers were steadily increasing. The strike collapsed and was abandoned by the Mimer's union on November 8. This was a bitter pill for unionism. The confidence of its members was destroyed,and the Trade Union movement went into a decline from which it did not recover for many years. Thus was reinstituted the 'contract' system of mining which has continued to the present day.
The smaller mining companies were having serious difficulties in treating sulphide ore, and the Central mine ceased operations. The instability of the underground rock formation at the Central mine was a matter of concern, and it was evident that some form of subsidence (or creep) was likely to occur.
In June, a preliminary meeting was held of a special board appointed by the New South Wales Government to 'inquire into the Prevalence and Prevention of Lead Poisoning at the Broken Hill Silver Mines'. The board comprised Dr.Ashburton Thompson,president;W.Hamlet, analytical chemist; John Howell, mine Manager; Richard Sleath, A.M.A. secretary; and M.Vialoux, board secretary. Because of his involvement in the '92' strike, Sleath was replaced by Josiah Thomas, president of the A.M.A. Much evidence was taken but, because of the industrial climate, the final report was inconclusive.
1909 STRIKE--In preparation for negotiations in connection with the Award which was due to expire on 31 December 1908, the trade union movement began consolidating its forces. Many employees, both on the mines and in the city,were not union members and the Amalgamated Miner's Association engaged the prominent English Labour speaker, Tom Mann, to persuade them to join the unions of their calling.
Metal prices were low and the mines were retrenching labour. By mid-1908 the unemployment total had been reached almost 4,000 and there were indications that the mine owners would reduce wages. Following a meeting between the Mining Manager's Associations and union representatives,the B.H.P. Company and two of its associates, withdrew from discussions, the remaining seven companies indicating that they wished to operate under existing conditions. The Proprietary Company announced that, as from 1 January 1909,the 12\1/2% increase granted in 1906 would be discontinued. On 29 December, at a mass meeting, the mining unions decided to cease work pending Arbitration proceedings.
Thus was precipitated the first major industrial upset for 16 years-called a 'lockout' by the unions and a 'strike' by the mine owners-which was to last for five months. 1st January 1909 the picket system was introduced by the unions and the boundaries of the Proprietary Company's leases were rigidly patrolled. Essential staff men remained on the leases and those who decided to leave the mine were roughly handled. Mock graves were set up at various points along the Crystal Street boundary, bearing derogatory 'epitaphs' mostly directed at shift bosses, many of whom were union members. Special contingents of police were sent from Sydney to maintain order and on 9 January, during a violent street battle, 28 people, including Tom Mann, were arrested. In the course of the next few days, other arrests followed. Most of the demonstrators were subsequently acquitted, whilst others received short gaol sentences, were fined, or released on a bond. Harry Holland, who served a term of imprisonment, later became a prominent Labour Leader and Member of Parliament in New Zealand. An interesting sidelight arose from the fact that Mann, upon his acquittal,had entered into a bond not to make speeches in New South Wales, or otherwise assist the strikers. On two occasions, special 'Tom Mann' trains were run to the South Australian border, where Mann addressed large crowds of strikers and their families.
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