PROTEST MADE TO MINISTER

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21732, 14 March 1936, Page 16

PROTEST MADE TO MINISTER

Overtime Worked Boys .|fl| ACTIONS -OF FIRMS mlB CITY Jl A protest to the Minister for ployment, . the Hon. H. T. strong, against the dismissal ofjfflß boys, who been in fc work ftylH two or three years, and against t&|9| amount of overtime some of thesifl were forced to work was decided'&j|9 at yesterday’s meeting of the church Boys’ Employment COE3* mittee. * There was a brief discu^|jj sion on the position which had fiis3| been dealt with in the annual re*|9 port of the committee, and aftei&M several specific instances Mr W. -BJH Maxwell’s motion that the be : asked to intervene was- carrie&||| unanimously. Mr J. S. Barnett said that two r oiM three times in the last few weeks.|| he had been told of boys who- hajMl been dismissed when they had quaUiS||| fied for higher pay. The most-fier£;.|| ous aspect concerned those. wages standards were not governed]!® by awards. He had been that many youths might be? missed because their would in future be governed: by ■newly-made award.' * Boys • had the last few years been employed .$1 at such low wages that everijl before the Arbitration Court had Sal begun its new work, when employ-**! ers were 1 mating voluntary agree-siH ments, they were having difficulty ||| in meeting the wages bill because -|| in the past boys, had been employed ;J| at very low wages, * Overtime Worked Mr Barnett spoke at length on;J| overtime worked by employees o£*|| many firms and- suggested that the'iiM committee could do something 'kboufcsja the problems arising from thisl|| aspect of youth employment. He« had heard this week of a ‘ jvunior clerk who, at the wage of 10s a : js week, was worked for 50 hours j each week. : , V'. ; Support From Members 9 The Rev, R. de Lambert also ; f S suggested that recourse be had to \ the Minister for Employment, who, 5j he said, should .exercise some _ con- ’M trol on the overtime worked .by J| hoys.: ■: Mr M. E., Lyons, the chainnaivji said that some' message boys, ' be-- 1 ® ginning work at 8 a.m., were kept || at work for such long hours ■ that >; f| they were unable to . attend night fm school-r-a most undesirable practice. J | Mr W. B. Maxwell said that a protest against the working of such '4 hours! should certainly be made to * the Minister .for. Labour, He-moved rtbat a. strong, protest be .. -sent- on from the committee to the Minister y against the action of some shops and factories in dismissing ' lads after two or three years of service, and|;'| the demanding py other firms of an unreasonable amount' of overtime, from boys in their employ. The motion was carried without -M dissent.' 'S3