PRINTING APPRENTICES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 99, 29 April 1933, Page 13

PRINTING APPRENTICES.

redution in wages,

DECISION OF COURT.

A general application by the Master Printers' Federation to adjust the rate of pay of apprentices, in conformity with the reduction of wages made in journeymen's pay, was recently heard bv Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court. The application was opposed by the Typographical Union and Union of rtelated Printing Trades, and after e\idcnce had been heard the magistrate reserved bis decision. This he gave yesterday. Mr. Hunt said he at f\rst intended to deal with each application individually, but later decided, in the best interests of the industry, to give a decision that would apply uniformly. His decision was that oil all apprenticeship contracts entered into before June, 1931, the date of the general 10 per cent wage cut, there should be applied a general reduction of 15 per cent. On contracts which were entered into after June, 1931, and which were subject to the 10 per cent wage cut, there should be applied a further reduction of 1,-lSth per cent, which would make all payments to apprentices uniform. Mr. Hunt said he had no jurisdiction over apprentices' contracts entered into subsequent to the passing of the Fhiance Act, in May 1932. They -would remain unaltered. All consents filed were rejected by the magistrate, who also declined to award rate applied for. The reductions came into force on the date of the Court's decision—yesterday.