BEFORE THE COURT

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 292, 5 September 1931, Page 8

BEFORE THE COURT

Exemption From Cut ELECTRICAL WORKERS Both Sides State Case The first of the Wellington applications for exemption from the general order making a 10 per cent reduction in wages came before the Court of Arbitration yesterday. Applications were received from the Wellington Electrical Workers’ Union, the Electrical Linesmen’s Union, and the Wellington City Council Linesmen’s Union. Mr. Justice Frazer presided, and had with him Mr. W. Cecil Prime, assessor for the employers, and Mr. A. L. Monteith, for the workers. Mr. H. E. Swindell conducted the case for the unions, and Mr. W. J. Mountjoy appeared for the employers. City Council Linesmen. The special grounds upon which the City Council Linesmen’s Union based its application were danger of shock, burns, fall, electrocution, copper poisoning and wood poisoning. The 10 per cent, cut had made it very hard for the men to meet their obligations, such as rent, loans, interest, rates and general expenses, particularly the assistant linesmen, whose wages were only £4/10/- a week, and were now only paid 1/- more than the ordinary labourer. The large amount of profit, £58,000, which the electricify department of the City Council made, it was contended, did not warrant a cut in the men’s wages, which had never been up to a proper standard for the amount of risk entailed by men working on live lines on voltages from 105 to 3000. District Linesmen.

The grounds upon which the district linesmen’s application was based included loss of time through wet and tempestuous weather, the men earning in some cases about £7 a fortnight and less at times. Rates of all these" workers, it was claimed, should have been increased, but the union had withheld action for a new award owing to the Napier 1 earthquake. All power boards and borough councils, it was alleged, had made a profit bn their operations. Wages had never been up to a proper standard for the amount of risk entailed by men working on live lines on voltages from 230 to 11,000. Electrical Workers. Among the grounds upon which the Electrical Workers’ Union’s application for exemption was based was the fact that the apprentices must sit for examination to get registered,’ and pay 25/fees. If one failed in examination he had to pay fees again each time he sat Mr. Swindell said that there had been a falling-off in work owing to people being unable to pay for the change-over. Many were unable to pay their electric light bill. Position of Apprentices. His Honour asked why the percentage of passes was 'so low? It might be that times had been so prosperous in the past that even boys had been affected. If the boy attended the technical college classes regularly, the employer had to pay his fees.

Mr. Swindell said that the difficulty was that the fees had to be paid down. ■ Mr. Prime: Then they must have a different system at the technical school here to what they have at Christchurch. .1 have seen accounts which have been sent by the technical school direct to Christchurch employers. Mr. Swindell said that this course had been attempted here, but a leading firm had returned the account to the Technical College Board. The union had endeavoured to set up a fund to pay the apprentices' fees.

Mr. Justice Frazer: I can bear you out there, Mr. Swindell. A Labour Department representative recently told me that It was a pity that there were not more men like you looking after the boys. Mr. Swindell: I try to do my best, your Honour, Proceeding. Mr. Swindell said that the risk to electrical workers had been greatly increased through the men having to work on live wires while doing change-over jobs. The number of electrocutions, shocks, and burns which were occurring was becoming alarming. Owing to the depression, many firms were carrying on almost entirely with apprentices, the proportion in some cases being one journeyman to eight apprentices. The 10 per cent cut, he maintained, had been detrimental ho the whole of the Dominion, as it had prevented many people from getting work done, and had thus increased unemployment Even the Wellington City Council was talking of putting men off. Case for Employers. Mr. Mountjoy, for the employers, maintained that workers in other trades were finding it difficult to meet their financial obligations, and many were being paid less than 2/3 an hour. The Apprenticeship Act had caused many boys to imagine that all they had to do was to exist for five years to become tradesmen. Not one of the twelve grounds submitted on behalf of the Electrical Workers’ Union justified any change being made in the award, and he submitted that the application must be dismissed. With regard to the application made on behalf of district linesmen and assistants, Mr. Mountjoy said that the profits made by the power boards only amounted to 3.33 per cent. The last Public Works Statement showed that the unappropriated profits amounted to £189,310 on a capital of £4,000,000 invested by the power boards. Dealing with City Council linesmen, Mr. Mountjoy said that the members of the union could hardly ask to go back upon an agreement which was less than two months old. The profit made by the electricity .department last year was £55,000, of which the council took £lO,OOO for the relief of unemployment, and the remainder was set aside for new works. The union had failed to show the court that there were special grounds why its members should be exempted from the general order for a reduction in wages. The court reserved its decision.