Mexborough Times, Saturday, October 23, 1920
Conisbrough Glass Works.
A Return to Work.
Two of the three shops at the Conisbrough Glass Bottle Works (Kilner Brothers), were laid idle for four days last week owing to a lightening strike of the boys, who suddenly left their work on Tuesday night, on a complaint that improvements to machinery had diminished their output and earnings, and increased their labour.
As the men were thrown out of employment, the men´s trade union officials and the long conference on Thursday with the management, who insisted that the boys must return to work before their complaint could be examined ,and pointed out that this action had been taken without any formal approach to the management.
On Friday, the management interviewed a deputation of the boys, who agreed to return to work pending an enquiry into their complaint, the management agreeing that any legitimate grievance would be remedied. The boys return on Monday and the factories is once more in full work.
Messrs Kilner Brothers inform us that they have sufficient fuel to keep the three shops open for another week. If the coal strike extends beyond that period the works must close down.
With regard to grievance of the boys, it is pointed out that the new machinery may have the effect of curtailing the full production of bottles, but he does not diminish the boys earnings because it curtails to greater extent, the number of “bad” or waste bottles, for which no payment is made.