Hearing Next Week Of Margin For Skill Claim

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31239, 10 December 1966, Page 1

Hearing Next Week Of Margin For Skill Claim

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, December 9. The biggest wage claim lodged for years by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants will be heard next week by the Railways Industrial Tribunal, and is expected to be followed by a claim from the Railway Tradesmen’s Association for a rise of 2s 6d an hour as a margin for skill.

Both claims are reported to be based on the 28 per cent margin for skill recently granted printing tradesmen by the Court of Arbitration.

The A.S.R.S. is understood to be claiming a margin in the vicinity of 7 per cent for skilled labourers. On top of this it is expected to ask a considerable increase for tradesmen or workers performing the jobs of indentured tradesmen. This increase, for skill, is reported to be based on the increase granted the printing tradesmen. The A.S.R.S. hearing is set down for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. The R.T.A. claim, lodged last Tuesday, is for a margin for skill of 2s 6d an hour for indentured tradesmen only. This was lodged against a background of a national stoppage ballot held in protests against Government and departmental refusal to grant

increases sought earlier in the same dispute. The R.T.A. announced earlier this week, after meeting the Minister of Labour (Mr Shand), that it was considering a national stopwork in the New Year by its 2400 members. This was likely to stop all train services within a matter of hours. The A.S.R.S. hearing also follows 0 previous refusal by the tribunal to consider margin claims since these were in excess of rates shown by ruling rates surveys. Since that refusal, the A.S.R.S. has appealed successfully to the Supreme Court, to gain a ruling that the tribunal should not be limited by a ruling rates survey ceiling.