CONCILIATION COUNCIL

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 55, 5 March 1917, Page 2

CONCILIATION COUNCIL

TIMBER WOBKEBS' DISPUTE. A sitting of the Conciliation Council was held to-day at the rooms of [the Commissioner, Mr T. Harle Giles, to consider the dispute filed, by the Auckland Timber 'Worken.' Industrial Union. Some 150 companies and private firms were cited. The assessors lor the union were Messrs. W. Ch ristianson, J. Turner, and E. Phelan; and for the employers, Mea__rß. Joseph Butler, J. W. Ellis and H. P. Taylor, with Mr S. E. Wright ss advocate. The application of the union was for a new award, with shorter hours and increased wages. The request was for a, week of 44 'hours, and overtime at the rate of time and a-quar-ter for the first two hours,-and time and a-half thereafter. .The usual holidays were asked for, including Labour Day, Boxing Day, and the second of January. Time and a-lh_lf was asked for work done on holidays. A lengthy graduated list of wages was asked for, starting with headsmen at 14/ per day. For head sawdoctors _£5 per week was asked, and Wacksinith 13/ per day. The week's -work for watchmen was asked for .56 hours. There were the usual preference, under-rate workers, and regulation of boy labour clauses in the claim. There were two sets of counter proposals, one from the Auckland Sawmillers' Association, and the other from the Auckland South sawmillers. The hours suggested were longer, and in the case of watchmen a 63 hours' week was suggested. The wages were practically the same as under the old award, f The South Auckland Association suggested 96 hours for the fortnight, to be increased to 108 by arrangement with tihe workers. The employers, in lieu of the increased wage, volunteered a war bonus of 10 per cent until three months after the completion of the war. Mr Giles explained that Mr H. P. Taylor had been nominated as an assessor -by so many of the : smail sawmillers that he had felt it his duty to appoint that gentleman. Mr Butler said as they had not met Mr Taylor it would effect a saving of t—ne if the Council adjourned for an hour to let the assessors consolidate the counter-proposals. This course was agreed to, and the Council then went into committee. A Little Rakaia fanner recently had a very __t_igu__ed gang of harvesters at work on his farm. The farmer started to reap his crop, and as soon as the machine had got a fair start his eon began stooking. In a short time a party of gentlemen from Christchurch, who weje -pending the week-end at the Bakaia mouth—solicitors and members of other professions, together with a well known clergyman—scaled the fence and ! were soon hard at work in the harvest •fiekL The amateurs shaped remarkably well, and in a comparatively short time the -whole of the crop was in the stook. The kindly action of the week-enders was much appreciated by tie farmer.