HIGH LABOUR COSTS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 207, 30 May 1938, Page 10

HIGH LABOUR COSTS

Effect On Dairy Factory Expenses

POSITION OF CHEESE INDUSTRY Dealing with the large number of new awards, made by the Arbitration Court, the report of the South Island Dairy Association says, the,, effect of these awards and other legislation is that costs have mounted up at an alarming rate in every branch of industry throughout the Dominion. "The increases are met by raising the prices of the foods and services affected and the ultimate result is that the exporting industries have to carry most of the impost. They unfortunately are not in the privileged position of being able to pass it on.” The report says the new Dominion award for dairy factory workers fixed weekly hours and gave a considerable increase in wages over the 1931 rates. Other' provisions were: A six-day week; eight statutory holidays and an annual holiday of three weeks to cheese factory workers and two weeks to butter factory workers; overtime at double rates (first four hours rate and a half) ; half rate extra for Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I

“The wages of a certain worker employed by a butter factory company as a lorry-driver collecting cream from its suppliers amount to £2l/7/6 for a fortnight, and that does not take into account the holiday allowances, which are additional,” the report states. “In this particular case the employee concerned is engaged for long hours, and on Saturday and Sunday, but the average dairy-farmer (and in many cases with his wife and family to help him) works longer hours for a mere pittance compared''with the sum mentioned.

“The cheese factory companies, however, have been affected to a much greater degree than the butter -factories by reasoit- of the fact that the work occupies all seven days of the week. (It is only in exceptional cases that a butter factory operates on Sunday.) “The provisions of .. the Factories Amendment Act, 1936,'raised the production costs in the cheese factories considerably, with the result that five small'' factories in the South Island were compelled to close down at the end oi last season. This award will further accentuate the problem, and if other factory companies do not cease operations this year the reason will be that they have decided to carry on in the hope that better conditions will prevail in the near future. The process of cheese manufacture cannot be satisfactorily completed in less than 10 hours from the time the milk" commences to arrive at the factory, and any restrictions that are forced upon the industry which disregard that fact can only lead to disruption of the industry.” Notices of motion from three dairy factory companies for consideration at the annual meeting of the association are as follows:—

“That the weekly period of employment of assistants in cheese factories shall be the time required to complete the manufacture of cheese, having due regard for all the technicalities of the process, and without the payment of overtime.”

“That an emphatic protest be forwarded to the Minister of Marketing in regard to the serious position created in cheese factories owing to the restricted hours defined in the Dominion dairy factory workers’ award.” “That, in view of the greatly increased costs to dairy factories owing to the restriction of hours to be worked by assistants, and of the sacrifice in quality of the cheese manufactured, owing to the limitation of working hours interfering with its proper manufacture, and of the consequent danger of decreased production through having to contend with these difficulties, strong representations be made to the Government to extend the working hours of factory assistants to provide time for the efficient manufacture of cheese and other dairy products.”