SKILLED WORKERS

Evening Post, Issue 11, 13 July 1936, Page 10

SKILLED WORKERS

FURNITURE TRADE

APPLICATION TO COURT

SHORTAGE CLAIMED

Claiming that there was a shortage of skilled tradesmen in the furniture industry, and that work could not be carried on efficiently on a 40-hour week, furniture manufacturers applied to the Arbitration Court today for the right to work a 44-hour week, including four hours on Saturdays, and for periods of five hours without a break for a meal. The application was made by Mr. W. J. Mount joy, secretary oi the Wellington Employers' Association and was opposed by Mr. J. Fergusson secretary of the New Zealand Furniture Workers' Federation, and Mr. A H. Dixson, secretary of the Auckland Furniture Workers' Union. Mr.' Fergusson also asked for an amendmeni to the award under which furniture workers are employed, ana -to the Wellington Upholsterers' Award; a 40 hour week being asked for in eacr case. Mr. Mount] oy said the employer: were asking for the right to work 4< hours per week, eight hours on fiv« days of the week and four on the daj of the half-holiday, except in case: where the employers were desirous o I working 8J hours per day for fiv< days. The employers also asked foi the right to work five hours continu ously without an interval for a mea to enable jobs to be finished in vusl periods. There were, three grounds for tin application, Mr. Mountjoy said: la. The majority of the employers manu facturcd furniture and sold it retai and it was consequently essential tha the factory business should be con ducted jointly with the retail shops (b). it would be impossible to carr; out all the work within a 40-hou week in an, efficient manner becaus of the shortage of^skilled tradesmen and (c) the reduction of hours wouli lead "to a large amount of overtim work being required. The awards in question, said Mi Mountjoy, covered no fewer than 87 parties in the Dominion, and the fui niture industry was experiencing busy time with the result that man factory occupiers were finding it diff cult to produce orders with th amount of skilled labour available. 1 the hours were shortened the positio would become acute. Few apprentice had been employed during the la! four years, mainly because the emplo; ers were not prepared to comni themselves to a five-year contract dv ing the depression, and also becaus they had not the requisite number ( fully-paid workers to allow them 1 take on apprentices. Until a greatc number of apprentices were trained i the industry the shortage of full; skilled labour would continue. SATURDAY WORK. If the factory portion of the furr. ture industry was not permitted ' work on the sixth day of the wee serious inconveniences would be c perienced by retailers throughout tl Dominion, Mr. Mountjoy said. Satu day morning was a busy period fi retailers, because many orders we: received for immediate delivery ar it was necessary to have skilled trade men in attendance for the purpose touching up and completing articles The reduction of hours from 44 to represented an increase of 12J- p cent, in wages. The restoration of t] 1931 wages level with holiday alld' ance represented another 27J per cci The factory owners also expected ; increase in the cost of raw materi; arid this, with wages increases, wou add approximately 30 per cent, to tl cost of the finished article. When t increases added by manufacturers fu distributors were taken into . accou the increase to the public would pre ably be 33 1-3 per cent. If prices we increased to that extent there wou be a possibility of competit;rm frr Australia and elsewhere, facturers also feared that a nve-a week would lead to the men worki at home to fill private orders. Evidence in support of the poii outlined by Mr. Mountjoy was giv by Mr. S. J. Sullivan, of S. J. Sulliv; Ltd... of Wanganui, and Mr. F. Can bell; '.president of the Wellingt Furniture Employers' Association. Mr. Fergusson said it had not be proved that the 40-hour week could i be applied. As to men working home, work had been speeded up the factories to such an extent that 1 men did not want to work after tr went home. -A suite of furniture ti had taken 80 hours of work some ye: ago was now done in 30 hours. 1 employers had always claimed competition from "back-yard" manufacturers to keep down wages, and when he had asked them to help get legislation such as operated in Australia to check the "back-yarders" they said it could not.be done. Mr. Campbell: Will you offer that now? Mr. Fergusson: I do. "Back-yard" furniture was a very small percentage of the furniture produced, Mr. Fergusson said. There were only five firms working on Saturdays in Auckland, > and in Wellington during the depression very few men worked the full week. There was no application from Auckland for an extension of the hours.

The manu-

Mr. Mountj oy said he was appearing on behalf of the furniture manufacturers throughout the Dominion. Decision was reserved.