ARBITRATION COURT.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16699, 6 December 1919, Page 12

ARBITRATION COURT.

iestesdAtc sitting.

11m Okrart of Arbitration continued its sitting in the Provincial Council Chambers yesterday. His Honour Mr Justine Stringer presided, and with him wen Mr "W. Scott and 9fr J. A. irCnllougb. SOUTH CAOTEEBUBT PAOTTEBS. The South Canterbury Painters and DecoMcrf Union applied for an agreement to be taade aa award of the Court. The parlies Bad screed to a, flat rat* of Is lOd per hour and overtime in accordance with the Court's asw clause. The award is to corns into tmratioa on January Ist Xha application was granted. wwttatt. SHOP ASSISTAJJTB. Blb Christehuieh Betail Shop Assistants' Uaicm and the Christchnrch Betail Chemists' Assistants' Union, for whom Mr B. D. Martin appeared, applied for aa amendment of Ibsir awards in the direction el the seduo> (fan of horn. Mr F. Cooper appeared for the employers. Mr Martin said that ft was only in the grocers' assistants' award that the houra of work were specifically mentioned. The period be worked was S3 boors par weak, and the unions concerned asked Tor a '47 hour 'week, the retail chemists' assistants asking that overtime ahoold be paid after SJO pan. on five days of the week. Mr Martin contended that the request made by the unions was a perfectly reasonable one, and only in accordance with the world-wide aspiration of labour for an eight-hour day. If the Court could not see its way to grant the request, lie trusted that it would at least direct that all time worked over the 44 hour period should be regarded aa overtime. With regard to the request for 5.80 p.m. ss the closing -time, Mr Martin said that this had been conceded in Asbburton, Geraldine, Waimate, Tcmuka and Timaru; in Bangiora all firms bat one closed at 5.80, and it waa only in Christchurch that he had not met with favourable consideration from the drapery employers. Mr F. Cooper said he opposed the ai>plication on grounds which he fasd laid fully before the Court some three months ago. The * main linn of the amiment was that most of the purchasing of aiapeiy was done between the hours of 6 and 6 p.m., when, the working people were free. Mr Cooper said ihat there were about 1000 drapers' assistants in Chris tohtnrh and a population of about 70000, mostly wbo were not free until after fi p.m. To agree to the union's request would issult in shifting 445,000 worth of trade per annum in Chrisicbureh. He did not mean that this trade 'would be lost, but it would be moved to an earlier period in the dsv, and would need a larger staff to cope with it in the shorter hour period. Mr Cooper concluded by objecting to the demands on behalf of the chemists also. His Honour said that as (he Legislature had taken ever the work of rem'stine tho matter rf the opening and closing of shops, he thought it shonld be left to the Legislature. The unions were trying, however, to do the Legislature's work by limiting the hours that the aseistantS hsd to work. This in effect had the same e£Ht as stating at what lime the business hsd to close. WAGES IN DBAPEBY TRADE. Arising out of a memorandum of the Court In the Auckland award, Mr Cooper, for the employers, made an application to amend the Christchurch retail shop assistants' award {hardware, boots and soft poods sections) in respect to the pay of junior assistants. The wages are now fixed at:—First year, XX a week; second year, XI 7s 6d; third jear, £1 15s; fonrth year, £3 15s: fifth year. XX The employera aaked that the wages of » junior assistant in his fourth year should reducod from <2 15s to £2 Ss, and in the fifth year from £3 to £3 15s, and, further, that there should be provision tor a sixth year junior assistant at S3 5a a week. The wages of femalea were left to the Court. He employera also asked that messenger boys should be exempted from the provisions of tho award. Mr Cooper said that hut for-the fact that tho employers regarded the wages objected to as an obvious misprint, or mistake, in the •ward, which would be rectified by the Court when the fact was pointed out, the employers would have had to embark on a rather draatio policy of dispensing with the services of many of the juniors who were not ablo to earn the award rate. At the present time shop assistants, in the drapery trade

paitieiilsriy, were taken on at an early age, and the result of the award waa that a more youth on entering hit fonrth year waa paid practically an adult's wage. If the present •**™ wsje»_ were adhered to it wcrald certainly mean in future that few if. any yontha younger than sixteen wou'.d be employed, for then wit no donbt that an older man, of more mature appearance had a dccided ndvantart M a taJeaman, especially in many lines in which female customers were moire specially interested. Mr Cooper also aaked that an ambignons clause with regard to messenger boys should be rectified, for at present the Labour Department held that messenger boya were shop assistants under the award, a position that was certainly not contemplated when the award mi made. The application regarding tho wages waa opposed by Ur Martin, and he asked that with reference to the messenger boys that if tho Court altered the award in tho direction aatred for. it would see that the boys were fully protected in the matter of wages. As similar applications have to be heard from the employers of the other centres the Court reserved its decision. She Court adjourned until 10 ia to-day.