FIREMEN’S AWARD

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23300, 9 April 1941, Page 5

FIREMEN’S AWARD

♦ CITY AGREEMENT TO BE ADHERED TO The Christchurch Fire Board does not intend, in the meantime, to become a party, to negotiations for a new award for fire brigade employees, as submitted by the New Zealand Fire Boards’ Industrial Union of Employers. This was decided by the board at its meeting last evening, it being pointed out by members that the board had already extended for another 12 months the agreement under which its employees are now working. The letter from the boards’ union set out claims which it desired were to be the basis of a Dominion award. It was claimed by Mr J. D. Carey, who presided last evening, that in any case the claims could not be said to form a Dominion award, as Dunedin had not been cited. “In any case, I am not going to sit here and be a party to seeking reductions in wages or a worsening of conditions to any party of men,, as these claims do.” Mr Carey said, early in* the discussion. He claimed that in drawing up the claims the boards’ union had possibly broken the provisions of the Industrial Conciliation ■and Arbitration Act. in that the board should have been consulted about the proposals. Mr M. J. Russell reminded members that the board had also affirmed a policy, over the last 12 months. _ that they would not aoprove of higher wages, or conditions. The chairman: Exactly. The men themselves realised that. The board’s own representative had to come to us to press one small improvement. Mr K. W. Robinson; It seems to me that until December, 1941, when our ow/n award expires, we cannot be a party to another. Mr Carey said that the last award expired in December. 1940. Since that time, the men had written to the board asking for an extension. Only recently the board had agreed to extension for a year.. Now came this new proposal from the Fire Boards' Union seeking to have the Christchurch men cited as parties to a new award. On Mr Carey’s suggestion it was decided to notify the boards’ union that it had extended the period of its employees’ award for a year and that after the end of that period it would be willing to consider any set of claims sent to it. The Christchurch Fire Brigades’ Employees’ Union will be notified of the decision.