MILK VENDORS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 137, 9 June 1917, Page 11

MILK VENDORS.

HOTTRS OF STARTING. APPLICATION" TO VARY AWARD. As * result of a deputation from the ______ Vendors' Association which waited oa Hon. W. H. Herries, Acting-Minister of Labour, recently, with a request for a variation in the Shops and Offices Act and r_i'k vendors' award under the War Regulations, in the direction of allowing employees to start their rounds earlier jhan 4 ajm.. the Court of Arbitration •iras appointed a commission to take evidence, and a sitting tor this purpose was held yesterday afternoon. Mr. S. E. Wright appeared for th_ Milk Vendors' .Association, and Mr. A. Rosser for the Union. The evidence of Thomas Henry Chapman, manager for Amburys. Ltd.. was called in support of the application. Witness stated that the application was fciade because of the action of the men themsel". es, in that they voluntarily. and in spite of instructions, broke the award d? starting beiore 4 a.m. They Idid this because, in spite of all efforts to educate the public to a different sys{em, tiie latter iii-is.ted on having milk delivered before breakfast, which meant about 7 o'ciocii. Starting at 4 a-m. under thu system only gave three hours for a half-day's work. The men were paid on a minimum wage and commission basis, by which they earned 20 per cent, of all the money received up to a. certain sum. The men could not earn the wage they wanted to between the hours of 4 and 7 am., and it was desired now to make the hours from 3 to 7.30 a.m. Witness submitted that the union was standing for an ideal so far as "working hours were concerned, and he did not think the union realised that this ideal was not possible at the present time. Mention was also made of the fact that at present individual vendors, who employed no labour, started before 4 a.m., and consequently competed unfairly against members of the union who were not permitted to start till 4 a.m. The employers were prepared to undertake that they would not insist that the men start beiore 4 a_m. except in cases where the men themselves wished to do so.

Ernest John B. Allen, in the employ oi the Takapuna Dairy Co., was called by Mr. Rosser to give evidence lor the union. \Vitr.e_3 stated that to start at 4 a__. a man had to get up at between 3 and 3.30 a-m. to get to the factory at 4. Thk meant that the men had to go to bed very early, and were practically cut off from all social intercourse. The union had taken steps to endeavour to etop the men from starting at 4 a.m. "Witness served about 140 customers at Devonport with a "dandy." and was finished at about 7 a.m. His earnings, with cotniciscion, would average about i-3 5/ per week. As a rule he took out about "23 gallons of milk, which weighed some 2301b.

Mr. Rc-_er submitted, on behalf of the union, that because of a minor inconvenience an attempt was being made to suspend the Shops and Offices Act and the award. The law was either right or it vr__ wron_. It had not been shown that the law w_ wrong, therefore it should be g-ustaine.l He submitted that the employers had not exhausted all the means in their power to c.pe with the difficulty before they applied to the Court. Mr. Wright pointed out that Mr. Ros.er in hi? remark- had entirely ignored th-" 5 public His Honor stated that tlik was hard'v the question. The publi. -would thje milk just Ihe same. The question was who war to supply it? The Court announced that it would make a recommendation to the Government in d-ie course.