HOSPITAL WORKERS

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30938, 20 December 1965, Page 7

HOSPITAL WORKERS

Wage Increases Granted

Wage increases of from 12s 3d a week to 35s a week have been granted workers employed under the New Zealand Hospital Domestic Workers’ Award by the Court of Arbitration. Female cooks receive 35s a week extra, female kitchen assistants 12s 3d, male cooks 15s, and male kitchen assistants 14s. Female general hands receive 12s 3d a week extra.

Overtime will now be paid at time and a half for the first three hours and double time thereafter, all overtime being calculated and paid for on a daily basis. Male orderlies, wardsmen, store porters, cleaners, nightwatchmen, patrolmen and other domestics receive an increase in wages of 14s a week, and those engaged as head orderlies or deputy head orderlies receive increases of from 15s fid to 24s 8d a week. Female wardsmaids, housemaids, waitresses, pantry maids, laundresses, seamstresses, linenmaids, telephone maids, cleanerg and other female domestics receive 12s 3d a week extra. Saturday Work

A new clause is that employees working on Saturdays must, for that day, be paid not less than 25 per cent of the ordinary rate of pay in addition to the ordinary rate. January 2 is added to the list of special holidays, and on these holidays workers receive double their ordinary rate of wages in addition to their weekly wage. Formerly the rate was one extra day’s wages. Three weeks’ annual holiday is now allowed after five years’ continuous service with the one employer, instead of the previous 10 years’ service. Hourly rates for casual workers have also been altered. Female kitchen workers receive 6s an hour, and others 5s lOd an hour. Male workers, other than cooks, receive 8s an hour. Part-time female cooks in kitchens catering for 100 persons or less receive 7s sjd an hour for the first cook, and 6s Hid an hour for the second cook.

Board and lodging is now valued at £2 7s 6d a week. Workers living out may be provided with meals on duty for 3s a meal. These amounts may be deducted for meal, or board and lodging. The terms of the award, which were arrived at in the course of an inquiry held before a council of conciliation, come into force on December 20 and remain in force until December 20, 1967.