SHORTER HOURS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 206, 1 September 1936, Page 8

SHORTER HOURS.

IMPATIENT WORKERS.

PRIME MINISTER'S ADVICE. TRIBUTE TO COURT. (15 y Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, Monday. Comment on industrial problems, following decisions of the Arbitration Court regarding the application of the 40-hour week, was made by the Prime Minister, the Kt. Hon. M. J. Savage, this evening. "Our promise to the workers during the election campaign was that we would restore their rights under the Arbitration Court," said Mr. Savage. "That promise has been more than fill filled. Their rights have been extended over and above that. We said that we were going to give the workers the benefits of the machine age and as an initial step in that direction we laid down the principle of the application of the 40-hour week in industries where it could be shown to be not impracticable. I can readily understand the desire of workers for shorter hours, and I can understand the impatience of those who have recently seen their claims rejected. However, tliose workers, and the unions which act for them, must exercise a reasonable degrte of patience.

t "It is impossible to change everything overnight and a general reduction | of working hours to 40 a week would |be manifestly unfair. The Government | had to leave it to a competent tribunal to judge where the principle of the 40- ' hour- week should apply, but just | because a particular industry has been told that it must work longer hours that I does not mean that it is to be denied the benefits of the shorter working week for al! time. .The Government has declared its goal and it is determined that it will reach that goal as soon as possible." "No Dictation." "There is no intention on the part of the Government to dictate to the Arbitration Court. To attempt to act in i such a fashion with a judicial body would be absurd, especially as the Court is able to view particular cases in the light of evidence. If there is any breakdown in the system of compulsory arbitration, or if the system as it exists at present tends to prevent the realisation of the Government's plans, then it will I be necessary to consider its replacement.' j Iloweveij, it cannot be said that compulsory arbitration has failed to date, and organisations of workers will be well advised to show reasonable patience.

"To put all our plans into force by a stroke of the pen might result in widespread disruption in industry," Mr. Savage added. "The people who would suffer most from that would be the workers themselves. We recognise that an essential factor in industrial changes must be the capacity of industry generally to withstand those changes. But where adjustments cannot be made at onco tliey can be made gradually, and workers generally will be serving their own interests if they can retain tlieir patience." It was suggested to Mr. Savage that sone members of his own party inside the House of Representatives were uneasy concerning the industrial situation, and that a section of them held that precipitate action on the part of disappointed unions might seriously cWbai'ass the Government. The Prime Minister admitted that tfhere might be some force in that argument, but added that the whole position was being carefully -watched by the Government.