PLUMBERS AND ROAD SAFETY

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27374, 12 June 1954, Page 3

PLUMBERS AND ROAD SAFETY

ARBITRATION COURT DISCUSSION MOVE TO LIMIT LOADS ON BICYCLES (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 11. Road safety was discussed in the Arbitration Court yesterday when plumbers and gasfitters and their employers disputed award matters. The Plumbers’ and Gasfitters’ Union asked the Court to forbid the carrying of plumbing materials on a bicycle, and to limit the weight of tools allowed to be carried on a bicycle to 141 b. The employers’ counter-proposal asked retention of the present award clause limiting the total weight of tools and materials to 561 b. The workers’ advocate (Mr H. Thompson) said that transport had now reached the stage Where it was more desirable than ever to curb the possibility of accidents. The union also asked that a clause be inserted saying that “No worker shall work on. a ladder over 20ft in height except where the ladder is securely fixed or tied, unless footed by another worker.” Mr Thompson commented that in 1951, 390 accidents were caused by falls from ladders. Passers-by on busy thoroughfares were also exposed to unnecessary risks. Mr Justice Tyndall questioned whether the Arbitration Court should write safety rules into awards where they did not directly affect the relationships between workers and employers. “Would you expect to see something in the award that people using a bicycle should keep to the left? v ’ he asked Mr Thompson. The keep-to-the-left rule was general knowledge, said Mr Thompson, and therefore in another category. His Honour said he vjas not so sure about the general knowledge of the left-hand rule. “Drive along the Hutt road any day of your life and you’ll see,” he said. . But the Court could not provide for safety in its awards, he added. There were other organs to deal with that part of industrial relations. “You’ll be asking us to say that a man should not go up a 20ft ladder if he has had two oeers,” he told Mr Thompson. Decision was reserved.