HOTEL WORKERS Need Seen For Dress Allowance

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30715, 2 April 1965, Page 14

HOTEL WORKERS Need Seen For Dress Allowance

Waitresses throughout New Zealand would be wearing football boots or standing in their bare feet while serving American tourists before long, said the national secretary of the New Zealand Hotel and Hospital Workers’ Federation (Mr G. Armstrong, of Auckland) in Christchurch yesterday.

This situation, he said, would be forced on waitresses and other girls working in hotels by employers who expected a high standard of I dress but did little to pay for lit. Mr Armstrong was making a press statement on behalf of the federation’s management committee, at the conclusion of the second day of the federation’s annual conference in Christchurch. The management committee comprised the national president, Miss D. De Lany. of Invercargill, the assistant national secretary, Mr L. Short, of Christchurch, a management committee member, Mr T. Duffy, of Wellington, and Mr Armstrong. In conciliation with the N.Z. Hotel Association soon, he said, the federation would press for an adequate allowance for girls, particularly waitresses, in instances where employers demanded a certain kind of shoes and stockings. “We are also after a boot allowance for all staff,” said Mr Armstrong. The federation would ask for an adequate uniform allowance under the dress equipment clause in the licensed hotel workers award. The conference considered the present allowance obsolete. “Spick and Span” The present allowance would not pay for laundering of one article today, yet the staff was expected to be spick and span before the public all the time, he said. Mr Armstrong said the conference considered that the fantastic growth of flagon sales of beer in New Zealand in the last few years, justified additional money for staff filling and cleaning flagons. This money would be asked for in conciliation. The conference decided to ask in conciliation for a 35hour week. Instead of the present two

weeks’ holiday a year, under the Annual Holidays Act, 1944, and three weeks at the end of five years’ service, the federation would ask for two weeks’ holiday for nine months’ work, and, where workers had given five years’ service, the federation would ask for three weeks’ holiday after nine months’ work. The federation would ask for a sick leave clause with the aim of making the industry more attractive to workers. Because employers had failed to recognise this problem they had been faced with critical staff shortages, many people leaving the industry. The federation would also ask for consideration to be given to a system of registration of bar staff, and that a committee consisting of equal representation of employers and union be set up in each hotel association district to implement the system for registration. Period of Work Another resolution adopted by the federation yesterday was to demand eight hours’ work over an 11-hour period, instead of the present eight hours over 13 hours. The federation’s present award expires on April 15.