FORTY-HOUR WEEK REFUSED

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21863, 17 August 1936, Page 5

FORTY-HOUR WEEK REFUSED

CHRISTCHURCH FIREMEN’S APPLICATION (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) AUCKLAND. August 16." 5 An application for a reduction to 40' weekly of the working hours fixed by the Christchurch Fire Brigadesmen’s industrial agreement and the Wellington Fire Brigade Employees’ award was refused by the Arbitration Court, which, in giving judgment, states that the refusal was made because the actual working hours already are considerably less than 40 weekly. In the court’s opinion, the application was somewhat unusual, and it pointed out that in Christchurch the combined hours of work and drill are 283 weekly in summer and 27$ in winter. Actual fire-fighting averages less than three hours a week 'throughout the year, so that the maximum hours worked are less than 32 weekly. In Wellington, the court adds, conditions are substantially the same. It appeared to be suggested that as brigadesmen are liable to be called out during 24 hours of the day in the event of an alarm of fire their hours of work extended over the whole 24 hours. The court could not adopt that view.