ARBITRATION COURT.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18095, 10 June 1924, Page 11

ARBITRATION COURT.

CHRISTCHURCH SITTINGS. The Christchurch sittings or the Court of Arbitration were resumed yesterday afternoon. Mr Justice Frarer presided, Mr W. Scott represented tho employers, and Mr H. Hunter tho employees. _Tho Canterbury Bakers' and Pastrycooks' Union (Mr R. A. Brooks) applied for an interpretation of Clause l 0 (a) Q f the award. The clause in respect of which interpretation v.-ss sought concerned the employment of females It provided that females engaged decorating i cing) and { h be P ald less than twoM- T r T?'- a ?j B payab)e to journovmcn. JU i. U. hie.der appeared for the Labour Department, and Mr W. Cecil Prime lor tho employers. Mr Fielder said that the point was .vhother the decorating of small goods v.-„a covered oy suD-clause ( 3), providing for tho paymen, at the rate of two-thirds of tho rale paid journeymen. Mr Brookes submitted that subclause 3 was intended to provide for the icin" and piping of small cakes. He called evidence. T P , ~it ' aiaaa g e r of Beresford, Ltd., stated that he could not help thinking cakes and pastries" had been included in the sub-clause by error. Witness said iliit he did not profess to be up in the practicalpart of the business. Xancy Elsie Coy, forewoman at the Beresford, stated that she supervised si:: other gir s, who all did finishing eff with icing and piping of Binall cakes. To his Honour: 'All the six girls did piping and icing work. It took a girl about six months _to piclt up all the operations. A smart girl could pick up one o£ the operations in a week or a fortnight. Witness described certain forms of pastry in respect of which finishing was done. Mr Prime said that from enquiries ho had made, the work entailed in putting! icing and some small decorations on what were generally known as email goods was considered as being covered by tho definition _ ''finishing." He submitted that the provision for the payment of two-thirds of journeymen rates was intended to cover the decorating, icing, and piping of , wedding, chiatemng, birthday, and Christmas ca-Uea, the decorating of which involved a considerable account of skill. He suggested t t tiio word,s "caJtes and pastries," in the award, had crept in by mistake. The finishing 0 t small good# was a simple procedure, and could bo carried out by young girls with a few days' instruction. Samples of the different small goods and cakes were produced in Court. It was stated that the award exipires in October, and it was intended to have rate 3 01 pay provided for tho work in dispute. His Honour said that his recollection was that tho wording of the clause in dispute had hoen agreed upon by the v parties, .nil the Court was asked to decide was tho rates of pay. "Decorating, piping, and icing" v.-aa skilled work of a specialised nature, and of narrow scope. The girl who could do it did not need to linow how to make the cake she waa decorating. It was work that required a good deal of artistio sense and of artistic touch, and was worfc suitable for women. Tho Court's memorandum to tho Wellington award referred to "certain skilled operations to which females were peculiarly suited." His Honour did not think for ono moment that it waa the jcing and decorating of those small cakes that waa intended to bo covered. But the clause stated*' "The decorating, piping, and icing of cakes and pastries"; and they wero informed that in the trade tho term "cakes and pastries" had no reference to size; on ■the wording of the award tho Court could not eay anything beyond this, that there is no distinction made between decorating small cakes and pastries, and large cakes and pastries. A woman employed on that class of work was entitled, under the award, to wages at tho rate of two-thirds of » journeyman'# wage. However, tho Court did not wish to see the girls employed on the decoration of small cakes, and pastrie3 thrown out of work, and suggested that the parties should confer and agree on aoine amendment of the award; if they did so and submitted it to tho Court it would see it through. The Court's formal decision was that tho size of cakes and pastries made jio difference, and that tho interpretation put on the clause by the union was correct. Mr Prime and Mr Brookes undertook to confer with the view of submitting an amendment of the award for tho Court's approval. The Court roso till 10 a.m. to-morrow.