City Councillors Challenged To Night-Life Tour

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30186, 18 July 1963, Page 15

City Councillors Challenged To Night-Life Tour

Members of the City Council's by-laws committee are challenged by She secretary of the Canterbury Hotel. Hospital, and Restaurant Workers’ Union (Mr L. Short) to go with him on a night visit to some Christchurch restaurants ‘to have their eyes opened.” The challenge was sent to the council by letter yesterday “My night out in the city will really be a back-door job,” said Mr Short. “Their eyes will be opened wide. I would like a Labour Department inspector and Miss Mabel Howard, M P., to come along for good measure." Mr Short said that the tour would be made after midnight. Asked what the party might expect to see, Mr Short said: ‘‘They will see sly-grogging in some cases They will see some restaurants that don’t comply with the health laws. They will see food cooked in tins. They will find that, in some cases, toilet facilities are nonexistent." Asked why he particularly wanted Miss Howard to be a member of the party. Mr Short said; “She spoke at the council meeting the other night about a thump, thump, thump at Cowles Stadium. But she hasn’t seen anything yet.” Mr Short said that he felt compelled to send the challenge to the council because of its decision this week to allow Saturday-night entertainments in eating-houses to continue till 2 am. on Sundays in approved cases He had noted, he said,

that several proprietors of eating-houses had asked the council tor permission to supplement their activities with a certain amount of entertainment, and that, if the premises complied fully, ■ the council would issue puiblicbuilding licences where appropriate. “Will these licences be dealt with finally by the committee, or will members of the public, or organisations such as oyr own, be permitted to lodge objections?’’ Mr Short asked.

"Some of the applicants could have quite decent premises and we would not have any opposition at all. But others we suspect will have asked for provision would be definitely opposed by our union. “Unfortunately, we do not know who the applicants are. B'.t if our guess is any good we could name at least six.

“Our main objection is that some employers in night restaurants are not complying with the law in any shape or form.” Mr Short said. “In some cases, they do not comply with the health

regulations. Also, they do not comply with the workers’ award under which they operate.

“We are quite sure that this is a move by some types of restaurants to get the City Council to issue public-build-ing licences, which would enable them to get around the Shops and Offices Act and the award,” Mr Short said. “We would like to know from the City Council whether there will be a public hearing of these applications and whether the applicants will be publicly known.” Mr Short said that women working in restaurants were entitled to an award penalty payment of 10s 3d an hour, in addition to ordinary wages, if they were employed after 10.30 p.m. This penalty payment did not apply to ballrooms, public dance halls, cabarets, banquets, and social functions, the Shops and Offices Act allowing women over 18 years of age to work till midnight and women over 21 to work beyond midnight but not later than 5.30 a.m. Special rates were payable to these workers, as their employment, mainly on Saturday nights, was casual.