TIMBER WORKERS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 17, 21 January 1916, Page 8

TIMBER WORKERS

CONSIDERATION OF DISPUTE.

The Wellington timber workers' dispute came before the Conciliation Council to-day. The Conciliation Commissioner (Mr. P. Hally) presided, and the representatives of the parties were : Timber yards and sawmills union : agent, Mr. M. J. Reardon; assessors, Messre. Joseph Hynes, H. Martin, and Hiram Hunter. Employers : agent, Mr. W. A. Grenfell ; assessors, Messrs. W. Hopkirk, M. J. Quirk, and N. F. Marley. The union's demands were briefly as follow :—Hours, forty-four in a week, instead of forty-six as at present, with a weekly instead of an hourly wage. For first-class machinists, £3 10s per week is claimed, in place of Is 4d an hour; for other machinists £3 ss, in place of Is 2id an hour; for first sawyers £3 10s instead of Is 3d an hour; for other sawyers, £3 5s instead of Is 2d an hour; for tailers-out, £2 18s instead of Is 2d an hour; for wood turners and coopers, £3 6s; for boxmakers, £2 17s 6d instead of Is Id an hour; for head yardmen, £3 10s Instead of £3 a week; for ordermen, £3 3s a week instead of Is 2d an hour; for yard labourers, £2 17s 6d instead of Is Id; and for casual labourers, Is 6d an hour instead of Is l^d. It is provided that no boy shall be allowed to feed machines unless he is recognised as an apprentice, and that apprentices shall not be employed in any department in greater number than one boy to every three men or fraction of the first three. Youths, in mill or fa-ctory, under sixteen years, of age, are to receive 17s 6d per week; sixteen ,to seventeen, 22s 6d per week; seventeen to eighteen, 30s per week; eighteen to nineteen, 35s per week; nineteen to twenty, £2 per week; over twenty years of age, full adult wages. The old award covered the whole industrial district, but the new claim is for a twenty-five mile radius from Wellington.

When the Council commenced business this morning, Mr. Grenfell asked that, in view of the proposed application of the claims, it should be made plain that the award would not apply to country sawmills, but only to timber yards. Mr. R«ardon said that the country employers were cited only so as to avoid unfair competition with city timber yards. He offered to agree to the striking out of country employers.

Mr. GrenfeU said he did not wish this. He desired to have ' country employers bound so far as their timber yards went, but not in regard to their work as bush sawmillers. If they were bound as bush sawmillers the position of country millers would be prejudiced. The claims aeked for a forty-four hour week, whereas bush sawmillers now worked ninety-six hours a fortnight.

Eventually, on the suggestion of the Commissioner, a clause was agreed to that the recommendation should not affect any mill carrying on business substantially as a country sawmill.

The | Council then went into committee.