COMPLETE AGREEMENT

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21904, 3 October 1936, Page 10

COMPLETE AGREEMENT

f i, '\" V‘ *■ - • 1 r **, ' , m v r^V* 1 - v ' ‘CdZ. _ ‘ 5 V ( <" ** "■ n*-, f* +, *„ ■

_ 1 Vl V^t: " 1 * ’ ** f V* u"‘ J ' V- f'i / i WEEKLY WAGE OF £3/12/6 i, SUGGESTED

• : •- Tr.fc *::>• '": .. ■-. . ' ■■■ :'■••■ ' ! ;* ; • v r ; >' rv ;*,.. , .•. . ' -- . x '-.;. : /> '■ Reduction ofLicenses by Natural Lapse

's • . .‘x 1 ■■:.•’ ■ ' / ' ■■■ r-V • •■ ' ■ ■ - •', . Subject to the approval of the committee of enquiry, on whose suggestion the" conference was held, a meeting fully representative of the, taxi interest s of Christchurch yesterday : agreed to operate generally under the conditions prescribed by the taxi drivers’ award of 1931, with the exception of the provisions of that award as to'wages and with special provisions regarding any overtime worked by owner-drivers. A wage rate for taxi drivers of-£3 12s dd a week, plus V overtime, was agreed on at the conference, and will he submitted to the committee of enquiry as a reasonable rate. The agreement reached at the Conference will also, it is believed, . end the illegal practices which have been complained of in evi- , deuce before the committee and pnt a stop to touting in the ■■■■' streets. "■■■.. ■; ’ ‘ i*. ■ .■ Having agreed that some reduction of the number of . taxi licenses in the city was. desirable the conference will ‘ suggest' that this should be brought about gradually by the natural lapse of licenses or by voluntary surrender. „ /

Mr W. R. Lascelles, who has / represented the Christchurch City Council at the sitting, of the committee of enquiry, presided at the meeting*, and with:the approval of tlfe chairman of the committee (Mr P. M. Butler), made a brief statement last evening outlining the work .of the conference, which lasted throughout the day. Mr- Lascelles said that the official report of the conference would be presented to the chairman this morning. Reduction of Licenses Mr LasceUes's statement is as follows; "Consequent upon a suggestion from the committee of enquiry a conference ' of representatives 1 of the various interests concerned in, or affected by, the deliberations of the commission was. held in the Christchurch City Council Chambers to-day. The conference was directed by the commission to the resolution of'certain difficulties'; eon- , nected with the taxi industry of Christchurch, and in particular'to questions of wages. licenses, and stands, and also to tiie promotion of. a working agreement pending the finding of the Commission of Enquiry itself. “Subject to the commission’s , approval. the representatives at the conference reached a complete [and amicable settlement on the questions which were indicated to them as calling for immediate consideration in the interests of the public and of the various taxi interests involved. All parties concerned have agreed to operate generally under-the conditions prescribed by the howCexpired taxi.dtivers ? award of 1931, with* the'exception of the. provisions as to wages and with special E revisions as to any overtimes- worked y owner-drivers. - •'* ■ V - ' [ “A wage for the drivers of £3 12s fld, . plus overtime, is to be suggested _as being reasonable in the present circumstances. It was. felt that some reduction of licenses was desirable, and that this reduction should be brought about gradually *by natural lapse of licenses or by voluntary surrender, and there are prospects of some immediate surrenders of licenses. "To Disappear for Good” “By unanimous consent and agreement certain existing irregular practices connected with the taxr fares charged from suburban stands, the use of taxi boys, touts in; the _ streets, and noisy touting, are to disappear for good and at once. Certain recommendations connected with the use of stands and ’ stand telephones will also be, submitted.” , , ■ ■ Mr Lascelles added that the conference had been conducted in-the best of good spirits, and there was a general evidence of a desire for compromise with a view- to' clearmg up the unpleasant difficulties which have gradually developed in the taxi world in Christchurch.

TOO MANY qARKIEKS

, *A ROTTEN SYSTEM” EVIDENCE PUT BEFORE THE COMMITTEE 4 That far too inany : carriers were licensed in the city was the opinion expressed by the secretary to the Drivers’ Union, Mr E. Parlane, yesterday, in his evidence to the committee enquiring into the carrying busing of Christchurch. He also a few drivers were required to wotk on commission, thus defeating the provisions of the Drivers Award. Mr Herbert W. Wise gave on behalf of the smaller camers of the city, who operated as owner-drivers. Witness endorsed that part °* M ,L S. Young’s evidence day), relating to his criticism. of ™ fair competition on ofthe ra ways. It was a well-known fact._ said the witness, that the railways catered for household furniture removal, and it did 4 not matter to ibem Wbe&w.the work paid or not;;,qs,anyipss could be made up out of the public purse. Unfair competition' was not confined t .the railways, the larger, carrying t^ns, the New Zealand Express .Company andl J. M. Hey WcckT Ltd,’ temgjast as bad from the-point,oXview of small ' carriers. This was' due to the operation of the truck system bn the railways. A truck took such ’-a larj^Of'quantity of goods, and these were available at such a low rate, that the firms were able to do the city carrying to the station free of charge. This gave these firms £ tremendous advantage over the ymalTer firms who did not operate on a sufficiently large scale to enable them to go in for the truck system.* Referring to the carriage of goods undertaken by the Post and .Telegraph Department, on account of the* rauways,’ witness said that private carriers could not compete, because any loss incurred was simply'passed on to tne , public in the form of taxations otherwitness continued that there was a growing danger in the practice of the public employing earners. ■ oanxhig businisHf as 4 f sideunlicaffißsed; , should ■ - ,|feinuch as 1 7 that the the w^&Tadmitted

TAXI-DRIVERS’ HOURS

SHARE SYSTEM CONDEMNED

LONG BAYS FOR LITTLE REWARD

MR E. PARLANE’S EVIDENCE i A suggestion that the City Council should corpulence, a process of reduc-. ing the'number of taxi cabs in Christchurch'was made yesterday: to the committee enquiring into the taxi business of the Dominion, by Mr E; Parlane, secretary of the Canterbury Drivers' Union. Mr Parlane also said that he thought it a fair proposition to increase the fares to Is a mile for ‘one or two passengers, with. 6d a mile When returning: empty t’6' the place of hiring. ■*,. ' „ . Evidence was given by Mr Parlane, who said that the Canterbury Drivers Union included the taxi-drivers during i the period they were working under award conditions. Witness said he had watched the evil effects of the share system on the taxi industry. Before the; introduction of the share system* the'industry, frona the workers viewpoint, had' reached its highest peak, and the drivers concerned were in receipt of Wages that, with careful handling, afforded them a fair standard of living. The wages were £4 10s for those employed on day smit, and 12s 6d weekly for those bn night shift. The hours of work were 60 and 70 in alternate weeks. The firms operating i at the time were providing the public with a good service, and the fares charged were by no means unreasonable. However, a change soon took place when the Gold Barfd Taxis Started:, the pernicious share system. While this firm had only a few cabs operating, and advertised, cut_pnces, it was,doing great business. : The few drivers:: 1 working were making gopd money, but were working long hours. Later.- more cabs were put on, and, at a later date, Were increased fur-. ther, and the greater the increase of cabs, the lower the wages of the drivers. While formerly they were working long hours getting their harvest, they now had to work long hours to get sufficient to live on. The 'share system soon began to have its effect on the firms working under the award, and eventually the Rink Taxis was the only- • firm left working on wages.

thaXto some extent competition among the'road- operators .themselves baa forced; the department into the adoption of = the truck system and household removal. “I have seen three or four .men, iworking. on one railway job.”* witness added. ‘Tou have the men at your disposal, but I have never yet had a 1 job which would be employed three or four men <sQof"Oilers of Trucks v To the chairman, witness said he operated a horse-drawn vehicle. He had often; been approached by salesmen • for nibtor firms, who had offered him “practically any terms.’ Mr Parlane-said that four men "were employed-by Trillo driving trucks. Although they were alleged to sign each week for commission, this, appeared to "be a 'fixed amount “and was -considerably" less than the award wages. I have- reported the matter .several tones and I cannot understand why'the Labour Department has not been able to bririjg some action' against them. The, department seems to take the view that .the ordinary, relationship of rßaster and servant does not hold good in this case.” Beheld the opinion that these men were just as much under Trillo’s control as if they were working for wages. ■ . ■ ’ Mr Butler: He admitted that. here. “I have been fighting him with every •weapon I have had available,” Mr Parlane added later, “and I consider that l am thoroughly justified in fighting a system that is rotten.” Mr Butlen , Yes. there has been a lot of'fighting going on. ' '’lni'renly to the chairman, witness said there were too many carriers licensed in Christchurch. A limit should accordingly be placed on their number.*- . !i Mr T. J: S. Yeung, manager of the New Zealand Express Company, who Cross-examined the witness, said .that actually there was no free picking up and delivery. It was only an expression for door-to-door delivery, and freight 'was paid’at each end. “As long as the firms engaged are paying award natea' and overtime *is it not a fair practice?"’ he asked. - The ‘chairman: It is, then, another trick .of the t«dq to .use |be term free collection. ' ’■ 4 " * . Mr Parlane replied "that while some owner-drivers were affected adversely it Was not an unreasonable practice as long 'as award rates were observed,

Where this firm formerly had from 30 to 50 cabs, it at present had only 15. This firm had . always stuck to the wages system, and, although the wages paid had been forced down to such a level that the drivers could not possibly keep out of debt, the men were still much better off than most of the Gold Band Taxis' drivers. In September, 1933, owing to the bad state of the industry, and the impossibility of getting a decent award, the Drivers’ Union decided to allow the award to go out of existence. From Bad to Worse Things had gradually gene from bad to worse, proceeded the witness, and it would be hard to imagine a greater state of chaos , than was ruling in the industry to-day. '• . . “Over a long period of years,” proceeded witness,“l have, frequently come in contact with Gold Band drivers, and drivers who have at times worked for this firm, and they have always complained of the rotten system that imposed on them the need of working long hours to get a meagre livelihood, and they are looking for legislation to better things. “When the appeal from the decision of the magistrate was before the Arbitration Court some years ago. and the court decided that the relationship of master and servant did not exist in the Gold Band Taxis, the verdict seemed to rest a good deal on the amount of control that the firm exercised over the drivers. The drivers who gave evidence did so by painting a well-coloured picture in regard to their earnings and conditions of work, which were undoubtedly much better than at the present time, and later some of these drivers regretted what they had done.l have always been of opinion that the . Gold Band Taxis are not living up to the verdict of the court. I have been frequently told by drivers that they have never signed any agreement of lease of the cab they drove, and have been told that they a?e directed as to which stands they are to occupy, and others are given to understand that they have to be on the railway stand to meet certain trains, otherwise they will be deprived, of their cabs: 1 , “Subterfuge, and Trickery" “To sum up, in my opinion, the whole unsatisfactory position in Christchurch has been brought about by the introduction of the share system which has flourished on subterfuge, trickery, and misleading advertisements. This has had the effect of dragging the conditions and wages of those engaged in the industry down to the level of white .slavery, and is .turning honest men into rogues. lam sure that lam voicing the opinion of 99 per cent, of those , engaged in the industry, when I say . they are looking to this enquiry to put things on a better footing. “I would suggest; that the . Government should introduce legislation that would, bring, all share-working concerns under any award ruling in the industry; also, that owner-drivers should be- brought under, some regulations Similar to those .that ownerdrivers havq to conform to under the transport regulations, and that any serious breach-would: mean the cancellation of the license, also the maximum hours a taxi-driver could work on any one day should be fixed. “I am of the opinion that there are too many cabs, licensed in ChristchUrcH, and that the City Council should commence a process of reducing the number,- In regard to fares, I think the suggestion of Mr Hayward that a fare of Is a mile for .one or two passengers, with 6d a mile when returning empty to the place of hiring, a fair proposition. Motor Finn’s Evidence In answer to the chairman, Mr Parlane said that tlje regulation of the hours of drivers' would always present a difficult problem. His own opinion was that they should not be called upon to work mdre than'so to 55 hours. To expect them to work ‘ 60 and 70 hours in alternate weeks was. out of all reason, and was a menace to public safety. In cases where drivers were called upon to work abnormally long hours, provision should be made for them getting a week’s holiday, every three months or so. Hanging about the stands.for hours at a time must be very hard on the men. The chairman asked witness , if he favoured City Council control of the taxi and carrying business. Witness replied that the council, with the assistance of the Government, was quite competent to deal with the matter.* The council was most eager to put both' industries on a decent basis. When Mr W. L. McCallum, accountant to Hutchinson’s Motors, Ltd., was called to the witness box, the chair-man-told him that the-committee proposed to adjourn the enquiry' to- enable him to secure the evidence desired. During the hearing, said Mr Butler, evidence hag been about certain deals in motor-cars between

the witness’s organisation and Gold Band Taxis. The information was that the latter firm had traded in 40-odd Whippet cars and purchased or hired 40Todd Ford cars. "To assist the committee, we desire all possible information concerning these deals,” Mr Butler said. "The matter being of confidential nature will be discussed in committee.” He said that the committee wished to know the value of the cars taken in, the iriterest payments, the value of the cars give*, and the methods of payment. Mr McCallum, who stated that Hutchinson's Motors, Ltd., the representative of Ford Products, was associated with the Colonial Motor Company, and had the sole retail" distributing, rights for the Canterbury area, undertook to. supply the' information asked for.. Later in we’ afternoon .the evidence of both witnesses was taken in committee, after which the Christchurch sittings of the committee concluded. CHRISTCHURCH SITTING , . ENDS- ■ COMMITTEE TO LEAVE FOR DUNEDIN The committee of enquiry appointed by the Government which is investigating phases of the transport industry throughout the Dominion, particularly problems relating to"the taxi and carrying business, concluded its Christchurch sitting yesterday and will now proceed to Dunedin. The committee will sit later at Invercargill! and Ttmaru, and before leaving the South Island may take further evidence in Christchurch.