LAKE COLERIDGE CURRENT.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17319, 3 December 1921, Page 10

LAKE COLERIDGE CURRENT.

THE TEMPORARY SHORTAGE. WORKING HOUKS IN FACTORIES. One method of meeting the critical position which has arisen in connexion witlh tho supply of electric current to tho industries of the city, consequent on the breakdowns which have occurred at tho Lake Coleridge power-hotisCj u an alteration in the "clock hours" worked by the factories. "Slock hours" are the hours prescribed by awards of the Court of Arbitration within which tho day's work must be done unless overtime is paid- In somo awards governing industries which use electric current "no "clock hours'" are provided; in others ttiey arc-. In view of tho. necessity which exists for some ettective steps being taken to meet the position, an application was made to the Court of Arbitration yesterday by Mr Frank Cooper for a temporary relaxation, where necessary, of the provisions or* wards in respect of "clock hours. The terms of Mr Cooper's application wore as follows: A serious position has arisen in connexion witlh faults in the Lake Coleridge hydro-electric installation which wilf seriously affect the continuation of industries under present award conditions, and I pray the' Court to make; such temporary relaxation of awards as will permit industries being carried on outside the usual "clock hours" without the payment of overtime rates. Brieflv, tlhe position is to the above faults, there is insufficient power to carry on unless the work requiring the power is distributed ovor 24 hours per "day instead of being confined to tho same eight hours in any one day. If it is confined to the same eight ttioun> in all industries, many industries, some of which are seasonable, will have to be discontinued for some months. Necessity for Relaxation of Conditions. Mr Cooper, addressing the Court, said the matter was a vital one to the) industries of the district." Instead of 8000 k.w. being available, there wore; only 4500 k.\f., whidh waa obviously insufficient to. carry on the industries of the district. Awards of the Court had a great bearing on tho matter, because, they limited the work, in many instances, to eight hours per day. He was aware that the Court had little power to remedy things except by the procedure laid down in the Act, but it was thought that the Court might suggest some method by which employers and workers could arrange to meet the position. He submitted, for tihe Court's information, a table (compiled from the, Census of Industries) showing the number of electrio motors employed in the Canterbury district. Mr Cooper said that he did not pretend that tho table was absolutely authentic. He was advised that in respect of industries in wliioh tho awards did not provide specific "clock hours," the employer could arrange t!he period during which the work was to bo done: but in the meatfreezing industry, and the seed-dress-ing and engineering trades the hours of work were fixed by award to between 7.30 a.m. and' 5 p-m. Electric Motors In Use. The table put in by Mr Cooper showed the number/of electric motors in use by tho industries mentioned sa follows : Meat freezing, 199: ham and bacon, 3; fish canning, 2; butter, 11; grain mills. 25; biscuit and confectionery, 41;-fruit preserving, 7; breweries, 28; aerated waters, 13; pickles, etc., 19; soap and candle, 10; boiling-down, 20; sawmills, 4<5; cooperage, 8; tramways, 248; brick and tile, 11 j tinware, 6; foundries, 18; engineering. 43; printing, 129; agricultural ana dairy, 17; coachbuilding," 18; motor and cycle, 29; tanning, ship and boat ; 20; sail, tent, and oilskins, 6; furniture, 33; woollen mills, 21: boot and shoo, 34; hosiery, 2; clothing, •66; rope and twine, 6; and flax, 4. The return al&o showed Uhe industries in which "dock hours" were fixed under awards. A Conference Suggested.

In further remarks, Mr Cooper said the Court might see its way to express aii opinion in the direction of advising the employers, the workers, and the: suppliers (the Public Works Department and tho City Council's electricity department) to get together in conference, with the view of approaching the) Court with a'unanimous request to temporarily relax award conditions. Mr iiiLCiicutii. manager of the City Council's electricity department, was | in Court, and was prepared to give in- j formation regarding the likelihood of' power having to be cut off unless some provision on the lines suggested was | made. Mr Justice Fraaer said the Court j know of the position frnm the news- j papers, but would hear Mr Hitchcock. A Host Serious Position. Mr Hitchcock said that the situation could be considered as most serious. Tho difficulty might not arise immediately, but provision had to be made for/ sonsonal industries which, when they beftan, ran for 24 hours a day. Those W.uj.Tnatt businesses began late in De-c-ember. In addition, Uhere were a large number of employers whoso consumption would be 20C0 or 30C0 k.w. who had been waiting for a long time, for current, and had invested in tho necessary plant. These had been unable to connect up owing to various delays, and if there were further delays it might prove disastrous to them. The limited amount of stand-by power was being called upon, but tlhe position would be a groat deal relieved if certain industries coiild use power al) night time until sur:h time as tho trouble at the power-house was rectified. Employers were prepared to do So, but they could not afford the extra expense of overtime rates, and suggested, as a. compromise, that awnrd conditions as to working hours should be relaxed during the perkd of power shortage. Ifc was possible—tihey vt-ere hoping to avoid it—that the question would be no work, or night work. If that were the case, it would bo a distinct hardship to employer.-), in such circumstances, to pay nigrht rates. The capacity of the Lake Coleridge plant had been reduced by one-Hiaif. His Honour asked what the difference was between the demands for current

' during the day time and during the, night time. Mr Hitchccck said the day load was between 4COO and 5000 k.w., and at; night between 2000 and 3000 k.w. Ite- i plying to Mr Scott. Mr Hitchcock said tho employero could select any hours between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. His Honour's Views. His Honour Baid the matter was not entirely new to the Court: it was mentioned to members of the Court unofficially on Thursday, by the organiser of the Canterbury Progress League, when the Court was on its way to Chriatchurch; they also knew of it from the newspapers, and from tho report of proceedings in Parliament. .They naturally joined with the people or Christchurch in regretting that snob a j misfortune had- happened. As Mr| Cooper had stated, the Court's powers: were limited: it bad jurisdiction to. amend awards by remedying defects and suoplying omissions, and a limited class of amendment was possible under the War Legislation Act: -unless the parties agreed, the Court's powers of amending awards were limited. The Court realised that it would be a lengthy process to have a conference between the workers and employers in each of the industries affected. It was quite clear that the Court had no power to make a general amendment:, there must be a separate application, in each case. If a conference as sug-i gested by Mr Cooper was held, has Honour took it that Mr Hitchcock, as representing the City Council, would be regarded both by employers and I workers as a perfectly impartial and neutral expert, who would be able to give both sides the benefit of his advice, and to supply it with the expert information required. That would, probably, pave the way for some kind of understanding. It occurred to his Honour that the simplest way would be, if such a conference were held, seeing that Parliament was sitting, for the recommendations of the conference to be sent to Wellington, with a request; for whatever legislation was necessary, and that it should be passed this session. This would obviate quite a lot of waste of time. In Case of Emergency. Mr Cooper said the present negotiations had been opened as the result of a letter from the Canterbury Progress League—it was not really the employers that he represented. As to the course suggested by his Honour, Mr, Cooper said it had been his lot to ap-i proach the Legislature for urgent legis-j lation, and had found that it took con-! siderable time to get such legislation j through. He suggested that in thej event of any industry being placed in] a serious position on. account of the i shortage of power, that' the Court, wherever it might be, might deal with I the matter on a written request for an] alteration in award conditions. I His Honour: We shall be very willing I to meet you in that way. If both par-; ties send tho request to the Court to, alter the hours' clause, the Court, no; matter where it is sitting, will be pre-! pored to deal with the matter as an urgent one, and without calling on the parties to appear. If the > request is signed by the representatives of the union and of the employers, we will deal with it. . Mr Hitchcock explained that there was no possibility of damage to the. plant at Lake Coleridge from overloading—it would be the obvious duty) of the staff to cut off current before i .that stage was reached —and what would happen would be that power,