BUTCHERS' HOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 185, 6 August 1936, Page 5

BUTCHERS' HOURS.

COURT'S DECISION.

A FORTY-FOUR HOUR WEEK. SMALL GOODS MANUFACTURE. On the ground that it is impracticable to carry on the industry efficiently on a 40-hour week, the Arbitration Court in a reserved judgment delivered to-day has made an order fixing the hours of work (exclusive of overtime) at 44 a week in the case of the retail butchery and small goods manufacturing industry.

"The general considerations applicable to retail shops detailed in the judgment given in the grocers', case apply also to butchers; and having regard to the highly perishable nature of the commodity that they handle, there are, in the case of butchers, strong reasons against a reduction of hours and against the closing of butchers' shops on Saturdays,," states Mr. Justice i'age, president of the Court, in the course of his judgment.

The ease came before the Court by wav of applications made under section 21 of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act, 1930, for a reduction to 40 a week of the working hours lixed by the butchers' awards in the Wellington, Canterbury and the lJiinedin and Oafnaru industrial districts. Mr. A. W. Croskery (Wellington). J. Robinson (Canterbury) and W. E. Sill (Auckland) appeared for the employees, while t lie employers were represented by Mr. W. J. Mountjov. Forty-hour Week Impracticable. "There arc many hundreds of butchers operating in New Zealand, and almost every one has some species of workshop or factory—some large and some small -—where small goods are manufactured, attached to or working in conjunction with his retail shop or shops," added his Honor, '"and in the opinion of the Court it is impracticable to carry on this industry efficiently on a 40-hour week. An order must be made fixing at 44 the maximum number of hours- (exclusive of overtime) to lie worked in any week in butchers' shops. Saturday work will be permitted.

"With regard to the factories in which the small goods for butchers' shops are made, there appear to be a few isolated instances in wlii -li such factories are run by firms not themselves owning retail shops who sell their products to the butchers and other retail shops. The vast majority of such factories, however, are attached to retail shops and form, in reality, part of the retail shop business. They supply their small goods to the retail shops and draw their supplies of meat, etc., from such shops. Both sets of workers, namely, those in butchers' shops and those in small goods factories, at present work the same hours and are covered by the same awards. The factory portion of the industry, regarded as a whole, is, in our opinion, an integral part of the retail butchery industry, and, for its cHicient working, requires to observe the hours observed by butchers' shops."