SIX DAYS' LEAVE

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 137, 6 December 1935, Page 10

SIX DAYS' LEAVE

CHRISTMAS CONCESSION

MINISTER'S FIRST ACT

As his first official act on assuming the portfolio of Public Works today the Hon. R. Semple considered the position relating to holiday pay at Christmas for workmen employed by the Public Works Department on full-time relief of unemployment works, including those men who work a 40-hour week on development of aerodromes and landing grounds.

The New Minister immediately decided to grant all of them six days' leave on full pay at Christmas. Hitherto men on these classes of works had received only three holidays on pay at Christmas time, but the Minister considered that as a large proportion of the present employees of the Department had been on rationed No. 5 scheme employment for several years and had only recently started on fulltime basis they were justly entitled to the concession now granted.

Previously the position had been that unless men on standard works had been employed continuously for two years they were notrentitled to any annual leave on pay; but Mr. Semple's decision means that men with less than two years'' service on standard works will also enjoy the privilege of six days leave on full pay at Christmas. In fact every employee of the Department will receive at least six days leave on full pay, but men who have been employed continuously for at least two years on standard works will, of course, receive two weeks' annual leave on pay fis formerly. The concession now granted by the Minister will be of considerable benefit to the men with short service.