REVOKE ORDER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 193, 16 August 1941, Page 8

REVOKE ORDER

HOURS IN SAWMILLS

REQUEST TO MINISTER

A request that the order made by the Hours Emergency Committee extending hours of work in West Coast sawmills and twelve mills in the North Island be revoked has been made to the Minister of Labour, the Hon P. C. Webb, by the secretarv of the New Zealand Timber Workers' Union, Mr. F. Craig, of Auckland. Factors leading up to the request were reviewed this morning by Mr. Craig, who alleged that the large majority of the mills which had been granted extended hours hail ceased working the longer period about three weeks after the order was made, and to-day only one mill in New Zealand was complying with the order. Mr. Craig stated that in October last the Sawmillers' Federation applied for an extension of hours in the mills mentioned to 48 a week for the purpose of making up a shortage in butter box timber. Mr. Webb arranged a conference at Greymouth between the West Coast Sawmillers' Association, the Westland branch of the Timber Workers' Union, and the national president of the union, Mr. \V. Seator. and himself.

Attitude of Employers The employers refused to pay for the extra eight hours at overtime rates, and appeared to the union representatives to be more concerned with the export of timber to Australia than with the butter box position. The union, on the other hand, offered to compromise by allowing the extra eight hours to be worked at time and a half rates, instead of time and a half for the first four hours and double time for the other four hours. The sawmillers' representatives, however, refused to discuss anything but extra hours at ordinary rates, and consequently the conference proved abortive.

The Hours Emergency Committee then dealt with the matter at Wellington, added Mr. Craig, and a large number of people gave evidence in support of working the extra hours, including representatives of the dairy industry, who referred to the increase in production, the Forestry Department, who produced figures to show that the production of butter box timber could not possibly meet the demand, and the sawmillers who told of their hardship and shortage of labour. The committee finally recommended the Minister to make an order for the extension of hours at time and a half rates, and after a month's delay the order was made, with a proviso that, if it were proved that the extra hours resulted in extra production of timber for butter boxes, the State would pay to the sawmill concerned 75 per cent of the extra overtime rates.

Unionists Surprised The surprise of the union could be imagined, said Mr. Craig, when it was learnt that a large majority of the mills ceased working the extra hours about three weeks after the order was made. Some mills went on serenely and ignored the order, and at the present time there was only one mill in New Zealand complying with it. Strangest fact of all. however, was that butter was still being boxed and sent away. Could one wonder that members of the union had come to the conclusion that all the evidence concerning a shortage of butter box timber put before the committee was. to say the least, incorrect? Furthermore, could one blame the men for thinking that the whole affair was an effort to inflict a 48-hour week on them at ordinary rates of pay? Was it not reasonable to assume, asked Mr. Craig, that if the alleged shortage had existed, the people concerned would have been compelled to comply with the order, and. if not, that the calamitv predicted by the experts would have happened and our butter would not have had the necessary timber for its boxing.