New carpenters’ award ratified by Court

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32522, 4 February 1971, Page 10

New carpenters’ award ratified by Court

A new carpenters’ award, negotiated last October, has just been ratified by the Arbitration Court.

The new award rate is the first in 20 years to apply over the whole of New Zealand. This rate is $1.41 an hour, which incorporates the 3 per cent general wage order, and the Government has backdated the increase to December 14. For carpenters in and around the Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland districts, the increase in actual pay is 7c an hour. The previous national award rate was $1.14 an hour, but in these districts there has been an agreed ruling rate of a further 16c an hour, and the general wage order brought the minimum payment to $1.34 an hour. Since some carpenters, in more remote areas, have been paid only the award rate, other increases will amount to as much as 23c an hour.

The new award was rejected by the Arbitration Court when it was first submitted, as one of the employers’ groups in the previous award had not been involved in the negotiations for the new award.

The agreement of these other employers was quickly obtained; the workers and employers went through the formality of further Concilia-

tion Council hearings; and the award was re-submitted to the Arbitration Court in November.