PECULIAR POSITION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 139, 13 June 1911, Page 7

PECULIAR POSITION.

EMPLOYEES COMPLAIN OF _iLEGED PIN-PRICKING. OIHJGATIO-VS, HOLIDAYS, AND OTHER MATTERS. ! ffij-Tele-rap-. —Own I 'orre-noudeot.) i WEJ-U-NGTON. this day. j < Inquiries made in official quarters to-j j-, <_ to show that employers are ' Sroiviag increasingly restive as a result *f the alleg.-d pin-pricking they assert, ,j, e y have to contend with, reports the - •pojt" with reference to the deputation!; jbidi waited upon the ilon. J. A. Mil-J ir last week, regarding altering the day; ' m which the Prince of Wale," Birth- ' fa Jg to he observed. The Minister; ' |h written to the secretary of the _:u--•loTers' Federation i Mr. Pryon, stat- 1 W* that "the question has received the,' preful consideration o; the Government, jnd it has been decided, seeing that ' Coronation Day is a special holiday of -tional importance and fixed throughmt tie whole Empire, that the GovItnnient cannot see its way to incorforate the Prince of Wales' Birthday \t any other anniversary in tiie same j jjr. Although the Government does I lot intend to observe the Prince of j Wales' Birthday as a public holiday it | ts_lQt interfere in any way with the ' iwirds of the Arbitration Court by de- i daring that the day shall be observed on the day of a national holiday which ias been proclaimed for a special purpose. This means that master grocers, I in terms of their resolution, will have ! their shops open on Coronation Day (Thursday, 22nd June). They are obliged to observe the follovrng day | Prince of Waies' Birthday) in terms of the »ff_r_ governing their trade and the previous Wednesday afternoon, if the Department is correct, so altogether it will te seen that tl tney agreed *.o let their employ.'es participate in the Coronation festivities, as the;, all wish to do, and at the same time they car.-y out the provisions of the award in reference to tie Prince of Wales' Birthday, for which day, by the way, full wages would have to be paid, as their employees are weekly hands, they would -lose two and a-half days without a break. They feel that tier cannot do this in justice to themwlres. Then in the case of the drivers, if they ere employed on the Prince of Wiles' Birthday, the award provides tint for work done other than attending to horses, drivers shall be paid at the rate of 1/3 per hour. The above payments shall be in addition to the feekly wage." The employers quote these as typical cases, and point out that the result will he a "piebald holiday 1 on Thursday (Coronation Day). The grocers' shops will be open, and all their assistants will be at work, and it is likely that the butchers will follow E'fii. There appears to -be no way out oithe difficulty except by concession on the part of the employers. It is not irithin the power of a union, it is subsuited, to contract itself out of the provisions of any award of the Arbitrate Court. In connection with the Harbour Board employees matters are even worse. The Board has decided to observe the Prince Bi Wiles' Birthday, and between 300 »nd 400 of its men will be working on Coronation Day. On the other hand, the C-stomi officials, in accordance with the: Gwntmentfß determination, will 'be at writ on ■Prtaary \Prince of Wales' Birth_T), when the harbour employees are fcliday-making, enjoying themselves on Dmrsday (Coronation Day), when the Board's servants will be on duty. The Board had endeavoured to come to some irrangement to overcome the didiculty, bat failed. On the top of the holiday trouble lomes the issue of a circular "to the occupiers of shops" working under the' Shops and Offices Act, 1908. It is as fellows:—"Section 3, paragraph 3: If lay- shop assistant is employed at any work in connection with the busines"s of any shop Jater than half an hour

after tbe time prescribed by this section, the employer commits an offence in respect of each shop assistant so employe-,' The opinion of the SolicitorGeneral has been obtained regarding the thove-mentioned section of the Act, and I beg to advise you that the words, ' In annectio- with the business of any I -op,* mean work done away from the Mop, and that an offence is committed if S_qd assistants arc employed in or JJwut' a shop for any time whatever after the hours prescribed. The halflour- grace can only, therefore, te allowed where the assistants Jie engaged away from the [hop, such as delivering goods, etc. I may say that no exception will be taken to assistants working a few minutes after the hour of ceasing work, but only for the purpose of finishing on" serving customers already in the shop and putting away good, but no lew business can be undertaken after the closing hour. The circular has just been issued by tie Inspector of Factories for Otago. I ud so far had escaped publicity. It a issued from the Dunedin office. Employers contend that the ruling of the «w Office trill have equal effect here. Hey declare they are at a complete loss w understand how words in connection "th a shop mean work done away from the shop. Again in regard to the test case (a« • the observance of a Wednesday halfholiday in the week where an other hoi%- --% occurs). wUich ithe Minister nf labour has announced it is intended to "Ke in the courts, the employers point •st that since IS!H the law has eont-iin- * provision (--ection 3, Shops and Offices Wj that "-Whenever any day in any Wek, is a public holiday or half-holiday, ™ shall not be incurnHent on a.nv shop«6perwho clnsr-,1 hi- shop on such public MBdayorhalf-holidar to close it also on Wklf-holidav rrovilr-l by this Act."