COAL MINE LABOUR-The Curse of the CRO

COAL MINE LABOUR The Curse of the CRO (From a Special Correspondent) IT was known long before the nationalisation of the coal mines at the beginning of this year that the recruitment of labour for the coal mines by the Coalfields Recruiting Organisation (CRO) amounted virtually to a system of bonded labour. The workers were exploited by the colliery-owners, the officers of the CRO as well as by other intermediaries. In the coal-mining areas, they were confined to camps under strict surveillance and taken to the work-site and hack under guard. They were not permitted to mix with local labour and any trade union activity was, of course, completely out of the question. Employment was for periods of 11 months at a time and there was no certainty of re-employment.