§ Captain Pluggeasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what action a colliery 1327W manager should take at the time when a miner working underground is told to carry out a lawful order and refuses to do so; and whether the execution of that order, which may be intimately concerned with coal production, must be delayed until such time as action can be taken by the National Service officer?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThere are two courses of action open to a colliery manager if a miner refuses to obey a reasonable and lawful order. He may report the workman's refusal to the regional authorities of the Ministry of Fuel and Power under clause 6 i (c) of the Essential Work (Coalmining Industry) Order. If, however, in the opinion of the manager the' workman's behaviour constitutes serious misconduct, he may discharge him summarily, in which event the worker has the right of appeal. It will be appreciated that no sanctions exist or could be devised to ensure that any order given will inevitably be carried out. All that can be done is to provide penalties for disobedience where the circumstances warrant.