PENNY AN HOUR.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 18675, 26 April 1926, Page 8

PENNY AN HOUR.

INCREASED WAGES. CITY COUNCIL EMPLOYEES, An application having been made by the City Council section of the General Labourers' Union for a variation of the terms of the award, a sitting of the Conciliation Council was held on Saturday, Mr W. H. Hagger, Conciliation Commissioher, presiding. Crs. E. H. Andrews and C. T. Aachman and the Town Clerk (Mr J. S. Neville) represented the City Council while Messrs C. L. Hill, W. Annan and H. Worrall were the assessors for the Union. Mr Neville was acting in the absence of Cr. C. P. Agar, who was unable to be present - owing to indisposition. At a previous conference between the parties, held in the Municipal Chambers, the representatives of the City Council had agreed to several concessions, but refused to concede the | Union's demand for a basic wage of 2s per hour, offering as an alternative the wages clause of the old award, which provides for Is lOd per hour. The Council representatives agreed to the demands with reference to hours of work. These will be eight hours per day oil five days of the week, and four hours ou Saturday, the clause reading exactly as in the old award. Cr. Andrews, in opposing the wages demand, said the Council employees. had numerous privileges, which were not given to other employees in the , same class of work, ana, in addition, ware certain of regular employment. , The Union's assessors said that em- | ployees of the Public Works Department were granted as many privileges as those of the Christchurch City Conn-: cil, particularly in the matter of holidays. Superannuation Deductions. Mr Worrall said it was impossible to provide adequately for a wife and fam- - iJy on the present wages. He asked the assessors for the other side to contemplate living on the wages which ware provided by the old award. Actually the wages were less than would appear, owing to the deduction of superannuation charges, 'ihe Arbitration Act did not provide for superannuation and sick beuelit deductions from_ the basic rate. As a matter of fact it was actually against such payments by the workers. "Is not that soP" asked Mr Worrall. Mr "Bagger: That is so. Mr Worrall said the deductions brought the wages under the minimum rate. The City Council had actually conceded its drivers Is lid per hour. "Are we meeting the Christchurch City Council or the! representatives of the Employers' Association?" he aßked. "The voice is. the voice of Jacob, but the hand is the hand of Esau!'' Or. Andrews: Nothing of the sort. We have had no conference with the Employers' Association. Clause 3, providing for the weekly payment of wages in the employers time, was agreed to. In addition to the holidays provided for in the old award, the Union asked for the inclusion of Easter Saturday. This claim was contested by Or. Andrews, who said that it was one of the days on which it would he most dimoult for the Council to spare the men. The Council representatives, who were joined by Mr R. A. Galbraith, City Engineer, withdrew to discuss the demands. When they t ©turned Cr. Andrews said they had agreed tentatively to concede Is lid per hour. This was entirely without prejudice, and they reserved the right to withdraw the offer later. Refuse Collectors. The Union asked that refuse lifters be paid 2s 6d per day extra. Mr Worrall gave the names of five men who had suffered injury while employed at the work. Mr Andrews said the men were perfectly justified m refusing to lift rubbish bins which were niveasonably heavy. ' , An extra rate of 3d per hour for men employed as timber men m excavations was agreed to. Considerable discussion ensued on the payment of tar workers. An agreement was reached in terms of the old award on the payment of 6d per day extra for men employed sweeping or cleaning streets or channel sweeping, who commence work between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. The rates agreed upon for men operating mechanical tar and bitumen spreaders and at cleaning out tar pits were 2s 3d per hour, the Council to provide the former with clogs or boots, overalls and goggles, and the latter with overalls ana boots while so employed. A minimum of _ four hours' wages in any one day will be paid men cleaning out tar pits. The clause governing nightsoil workers was slightly amended, and now reads as follows: —Men engaged on nightsoil work shall be paia not less than £1 per day whilst so engaged, and shall be provided with suitable oilskins and given an allowance for acetylene lamps and carbide. The Union assessors withdrew to discuss the overtime clause and sections of the wages clause still unsettled. Rates for Special Worlc. When the Council resumed Cr. Andrews said the Council's assessors could not agree to increasing the extra pay for refuse lifters, ana men employed at loading hot clinkers, spreading metal, pipe-laying, and kerb-set-ting, in view of their concession of Id per hour in the general rate. With reference to tar workers and gritspreaders, the Union asked that the extra rate bo increased from 6d per day to Is Mr Worrall said that, if the concessions in wages were granted, the Union would agree to the provisions of the old award in the matter of holidays, overtime, wet places, suburban work, country work, accommodation, tools, dirty places, termination of engagement, under rate workers, preference (with recent amendments), ixxidents and scope of the award. Finally Section A of the wages clause of the present award was agreed to, with the substitution of Is lid per hour for Is lOd. An extra rate of Is per day was fixed for work at refuse lifting. The parties agreed on an additional payment of |d per hour for pipe-laying and kerb-setting and Is per day for working with tar, tar-sealing or grit-spreading. A wet plate was defined as a place with not less than 6in of water; in the old award the definition read 2in. A satisfactory agreement having been reached on all the points at issue, it was arranged that the award come into force to-day, for a term of two years.