BUTCHERS' HOURS

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 22, 25 July 1936, Page 13

BUTCHERS' HOURS

CLAIM FOR REDUCTION

OPPOSED BY EMPLOYERS

CASES STATED

As the portion of a butchers' shop usad for making small-goods is held to be a factory, the applications of butchers' assistants throughout New Zealand for a 40-hour week.v which were heard in the Arbitration Court yesterday afternoon, were met with a counter-application from the master butchers for an extension to 44 hours under the Factories Act. The employers argued that it would be impracticable to wor.k a 40-hour week and that as the factory work and shop work were interchangeable an extension under the Factories Act should be made.

Mi-. A. W. Croskery, assisted by Mr. G. W. Robertson, Christchurch, appeared for the Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago workers, and Mr. W. E. Sill. (Auckland) for the Auckland workers. Mr. W. J. Mountjoy, secretary of the Wellington Employers' Association, assisted by.Mr. D. I. Macdonald, secretary of the Canterbury Employers' Association, appeared for the 519 employers who opposed the 40-hour week.

The employers asked, Mr. Mountjoy said, for freedom to work a 44-hour week, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on ordinary working days, and between 6 a.m. and noon on the half-holiday, provided that the 6 a.m. start could be transferred from Saturday to some other day if required. They also asked for five hours' work without an interval fora meal.

Mr. Mountjoy explained that part of a butcher's shop was a shop and part a factory, and while the Shops and Offices Act provided for a 44-hour week, the Factories Act provided for a 40-hour week unless it could be shown that it was impracticable. The master butchers consequently found themselves in the impossible position of having to give some of their workers a 40-hour week while others had a 44-hour week. It was obvious that such a ( state of affairs had not been contemplated by the Legislature. VARIED HOURS. It was a recognised principle in New Zealand legislation, Mr. Mountjoy said, that workers in factories should have more leisure than shop assistants. The employers claimed, however, that,the hours should be the same for workers attending sausage machines as those breaking down carcasses, cutting up meat, or preparing corned beef. The work done was partly interchangeable, the work of one assistant following upon the work of another. The impracticability of working butchers' assistants a 40-hour week was shown by the experience of Wellington butchers. Two butchers who closed on Saturday afternoon- stated that the percentage of their weekly turnover taken on Saturday morning was 30 and 33 1-3 respectively. Two who observed the half-holiday on Wednesday sold 50 per cent, of the week's meat on Saturday, an indication that a considerable amount of .business was done on Saturday afternoon.. It followed that a five-day week would mean the loss of one-third to one-half of the trade which would be transferred by householders buying tinned goods, or fish, rabbits, and fowls, which could be purchased on Saturday.

The exclusion of. Saturday from the butchers' working week would have the effect of making extra labour necessary on Friday, and the butchers could not afford that even if it were available; the public health would be endangered through meat becoming contaminated; there would be a reduction in the consumption of meat to the detriment of the primary producer; weekend trade would be lost; there had been a decline in trade for some years through other traders stocking small-goods and-a 40-hour week would accentuate this; and hotels, restaurants and shipping, as well as the general public, would be greatly inconvenienced. The, shorter hours would also increase costs and butchers in rural areas would not be able to pass this on because their customers, who were mostly farmers, would resort to home killing. At the present time the amount of profit in the retail meat trade was less than 2 per cent, 'of the turnover.

tn conclusion, Mr. Mountjoy quoted figures as an illustration of the profit from a carcass of mutton, and said that the margin of profit would not permit of any increase in overhead cose.

Evidence concerning the position of the butchery trade and the probability of loss of trade if the hours were reduced was given by Mr. ~W. C. Deller, of Carterton, Mr. J. F. Carter, managing director of the Manawatu Meat and Cold Storage Co., Ltd., Palmerston North, Mr. E. F. Thwaites, president of the Palmerston North Master Butchers' Association, Mr. L. Barber, of Masterton, and Mr. G. F. Lane, general manager of the Auckland Meat. Company. Mr. Croskery presented a long and detailed statement regarding the butchers' shops in the Wellington , industrial district. Of the 343 parties to the award 18 had separate establishments used as factories and three had factories where some of the workers worked part of their time. This state of affairs was applicable to all parts of the Dominion, yet there was a long list of names attached to the applications for an extension of hours under the Factories Act. He submitted that there was no reason why the shops and factories should not close on Saturday.

Mr. Croskery asked the Court to hold over any decision until the shop assistants' case was heard on August 8.

Mr. Sill addressed the Court on the question .of factory workers and said that there were only three cases in his district .where there were distinct small-goods factories. He opposed any extension of the 40-hour week. Decision was reserved.