CITY DRIVERS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 20, 24 January 1913, Page 3

CITY DRIVERS

SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTE CITY 1 ENGINEER'S REPORT. : The City Engineer 'was authorised by the *■ City ' CounciJ 'last evening, to effect a settlement regarding the drivers dispute on .the lines of his report. This refers to the award 1 of, the , Arbitration Court dealing, with drivers in Wellington} Palmerston North, Masterton, Feilding, and "Levin. The City- Engineer's statement was as follows : — > [ The award provides 'that a week's' work shall not , exceed? forty -eight • hours, ex- | elusive of time required in attendance on horses which, shall not exceed eight hours in any one week. ' The time' at' present worked by ..the men . in the ■ Corporation is forty-six hours five minutes weekly, in addition ' to which about eight hours are devoted' to the" 1 cleansing » of> the' horses and harness. . The award provides for a weekly wage of £2 8s for drivers of one horse, and ' £2 12s for drivers of .two horses. The wage at present paid to Corporation drivers ' is £2 lls per w^ek for drivers of one, horse and £2 15s 6d for drivers of two horses.' ' The award provides • that • ' the above, hours shall extend to and include attendance, of horses on Sundays, ■ week days, a<id holidays, sttbject'to limitation of eight hours weekly. The Corporation drivers are, not .required to attend to the' horses on Sundays and , holidays, a stableman being ■ employed to do this work. » It seems perfectly .. clear that the requirements of the recent award are fully complied with" in 'the conditions under which the Corporation drivers are at present - working. The 'points requiring consideration outside, the .award, and which are considered Peculiar -to' 1 the service, are:— Saturday night -work done by the drivers of the' slurry carts, the question of; annual leave and, tlie extension of annual leave to' cover men who are working, on' the brooms at night, "with, regard 'to the number of hours I am personally of opinion that' the number of hours actually worked by the drivprs- exclusive of attendance on horses should be • the ; same as for the other Corporation employees, namely forty-six hours five minutes. The time devoted by >the men to attendance - on horses should not exceed the limit which the Court has fixed, . namely eight hours weekly. ' . . Drivers of two, horses receive £2 15s 6d ? and the difference between the drivers of one and' two horses is 4s 6d, whereas the award provides for, a ' difference of ■ 1 am of. opinion that - the drivers. of slurry carts should be allowed one day's pay -for the work on Saturday nights, the same as the labourers who are employed on this work. 1 consider , that nine clear days is a satisfactory annual leave • for . the men entitled, to same. This makes fifteen, clear 'days holiday per annum for which the men are paid. I'tfiinkit advisable to. extend the annual. leave to the men. who are continually employed on night cleansing.