Housewives Want Butchers’ Shops To Stay Open Later

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29221, 3 June 1960, Page 10

Housewives Want Butchers’ Shops To Stay Open Later

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, June 2. Tauranga housewives want butchers’ shops to remain open later on week-day afternoons and on Friday evenings. They find that the present hours restrict their opportunity to buy meat to the best advantage. They sought an alteration to butchers’ hours today as interested parties under section 3. paragraph 4, of the Shops and Offices Act before the Arbitration Court at Auckland, when it heard submissions regarding the Northern industrial district (except Auckland 21-mile radius and Gisborne district) butchers’ dispute. This is believed to be the first time such an organisation has appeared before the Court under this section of the act. Mrs D. Nell, research officer for the Tauranga Housewives’ Association, said the association had 222 members representing that number of households. “There are few housewives who find it convenient now to buy meat before 8.30 a.m.,” she said. “Therefore, for butchers to open at 7.30 a.m. is unnecessarily early Indeed, 10 a.m is the most convenient time for an average housewife to do the daily shopping.” Mrs Nell asked for the trading hours for butchers to be from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during weekdays and from 8.30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays. The association considered the suggested change , would be a minimum improvement only. It would prefer the hours to be • similar to those for grocers—until 5.3 Q p.m. from Monday to Tnursday, and until 9 p.m. on

Fridays. This would simplify the rurchasing of food supplies. The Butchers’ Union was applying to the Court for, among other amendments to their award, double-time rates for all work performed before the prescribed starting time; tea money to be paid after overtime had been worked for an hour or more; incorporation of the 24 per cent general wage order in their basic rates; and increases from 10s to £1 a week for some classifications of workers.

The employers asked the Court to spread the time butchers’ shops could be open to provide for remaining open until 5 p.m. to “meet the competition of vendors not in the industry.” The Court reserved Its decision.