A BREEZY INTERVIEW

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 118, 22 May 1925, Page 7

A BREEZY INTERVIEW

BUTCHERS AND LABOUR

MINISTER

ABOUT A HALF-HOLIDAY

MR. ANDERSON DECLINES TO PROSECUTE.

A request to the Minister of Labour that he should prosecutes certain Wellington butchers "because they observed the -weekly half-holi-day last week on Thursday,, the day of Mr. Massey's funeral, instead of the Wednesday, as provided by the Wellington Butchers' Award, receiv- , ed a cold douche from the Hon. G. J. Anderson last night. He flatly refused to do anything of the kind. The union, it was stated, would probably institute a private prosecution. The matter was brought to the notice of the Minister by Mr. A. W. Croskery, secretary of the Butchers' Union, during the course of a deputation. Last week, he said, the employers asked him if he would "agree to transfer the Wednesday half-holiday to the Thursday. The matter, was fully discussed by the union, which decided to agree to the halfholiday being- transferred to the Saturday. The employers had taken "JYench leave" in that same direction last Christmas. The law said that the half-holiday could only be observed on a Wednesday or a Saturday. The Labour Department would not take any action against the employers provided the union was agreeable to a change, being- made. "We want to know definitely," remarked Mr. Croskery, "whether you, as a Minister of the Crown, are going to prosecute those em- | ployers who have broken the award of the Arbitration Court deliberately, * or | whether you are going to allow them to go free. As a matter of fact, the president of the Butchers' Association closed on the Wednesday and knew nothing of the change. This shows' the awkward position we have got into by allowing awards to be stretched." I

In reply, the Minister referred to the circumstances under which, the butchers had closed on the Thursday, and said he presumed that, as citizens of New Zealand, they had wished to honour the great man who had died.

"NOT GOING TO DO IT." "Well, it is true that the award says exactly what Mr. Croskery says it does," proceeded the Minister. "It is also true, I suppose,, that I should. prosecute. I am not going to do it, and I would not do it no matter what party the great man who was being buried represented, i It does not matter twopence to what party he belonged, or what' position in life he held, he was a great man. He j had done, according to his views, a great i service to New Zealand ." ! Mr. A. L. Monteith, M.P., who was present at the interview, remarked that that was not the position. The Minister: "I am not going to proceed against those shopkeepers." Mr. Montoith: "The question is whether it is at the expense of the workers or not."

"I am not going into that matter," replied the Minister. "That is not under discussion. I know what the law says, I know what the award says, I know the special circumstances, and I leave it to" the public to judge. Very shortly the public will be able to say whether I did right or wrong, and I will take the consequences." Mr.' Monteith asked whether a prosecution would be instituted for what happened at Christmast time. . The Minister: "I have said all I am going to say." If the award was infringed under circumstances different from last week, then he would see that the law was carried out properly. "I thank you for coming to see me." Mr. Croskery said he did not want it to go out that the union was lacking in sympathy and respect in' regard to the Jate Mr. Massey. "But," he added, "we don t think that, as Minister of Labour you are fulfilling your duty in allowing one section of the community to defeat the award because pf those conditions."

LEAVE IT TO THE PUBLIC. The Minister: "I will leave it to the public. Mr. Monteith said the workers had been deprived of their usual half-holi-day. That was -unfortunate. The Minister said that as far. as the fetate miners were concerned, they were going to be paid for the holiday. In the cast under notice it was no. use askine him 'to prosecute. ■ ■ . Mr. Croskery: "We can take a private prosecution which, no doubt, we will do. . "Oh, you can do that if you are foolish enough to do it," declared the Minister.

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