WAGE REDUCING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 230, 29 September 1938, Page 5

WAGE REDUCING.

POLICY OF COURT.

MEMBER'S ALLEGATION.

FISHSHOP WORKERS' AWARD.

(I'.y Teleemiili. —I'ress A*s«clatlun.) WKLLIXCiTOX. this day. The Second Court of Arbitration has issued nil award for Wellington fi-li-hop einjiliiyeeH, coming into oj.eratioii on October :} for a period of one year. The award fixes a 44-hour, five-aiul-half day week.

YontW wages raniM' from CI 12/ti at l.'i to l"iA. to t;:i 12/ti between 20 and 21. Wages are £~ .">/ f.,r tir-t siin]>man. others £4 15/. Overtime is to lie paid at the rate of time-and-a-half- for the first four hours and double time thereafter. A week's annual holiday with full pay. and ID statutory holiday's with pay. are provided.

Mr. A. W. Crockery, workers' representative, dissenting, describes the award as "a further contribution to the waireri'ducing policy which, in mv opinion, this Court has entered upon."' In his opinion It was clearly shown in the evidence that the work of the first shopman was of a very similar nature to that of the same worker in a butcher's shop, who received £<> .">/.

He sni.l the Majority of the Couft recently decided that all shop workers required to work a 44-hour week were to receive nt least "/<> a week iucrearic. but the fi<h shop worker- had not received even that. On the present rates

he was of the opinion that a 40-hour week should have been awarded, and that it could have been worked by a rearrangement of hours. The. inn jo'rity had decided that 44 hours could be worked inside the span of 4ti',. and with that he totally disagreed.

In a memorandum, Mr. Justice Hunter states that the Court is satisfied it would be impracticable to cany on the industry efficiently on a 40-hour "week for the reasons that the goods sold are highly perishable; it would not lie practicable in the area covered liv the award to reduce hours, and the public would be seriously inconvenienced if unable to obtain their supplies on Saturdays.

He notes Mr. (mskeiy's dissent, and says as regards wages it i* a reiteration of Mr. Crockery's statement in dissenting from tlie shop assistants" award on September 10. where lie expressed the opinion that the Court had set out on a wage-reducing campaign. In that case the Court awarded an increase of 7/fi a week to senior male assistant*, and 3/ a week to senior female assistants, and increases to the juniors. Declaration Recalled. Mr. Justice Hunter recalls the Court's specific declaration of adherence to the terms of the Court of Arbitration's pronouncement of December 2, i.e., a g. neral increase in wagr* of .">/ a week, and ways that when the Second Court wan faced with the task of making a Dominion award for grocers' shop α-sistants and chemists, after conferring with Mr. ■Justice O'Regan. it took into account the fact that the workers in retail trades have usiiaH.- worked longer hours than in other trades, and that" it i« necUMi«ry to work on Saturday mornings, and awarded an increase of 7/0 a wick.

in the case of the Wellington fish ■-hops, the Court was unable to fix the wages simply by adding 7/li to the exiting rates, because this was the firxt award in the industry. The £5 5/ for the first shopman was fixed by taking the wage of a senior grocer's assistant" or senior shop assistant, in recent awards, which was raised from £4 1.3/ to £5 2/ti by the 7/0 above mentioned, and adding thereto a further 2/0. This was considered fair and reasonable having regard to the work done and the hours. The difference of 10/ a week between the first shopman and the others is considered reasonable and in line with Mmilar cases, and the wa<*e of the latter is fixed at *:4 15/