FIVE-DAY WEEK

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 69, 18 September 1936, Page 9

FIVE-DAY WEEK

CITY COUNCIL STAFFS PRINCIPLE ENDORSED DAILY HOURS ISSUE The City Council, after a considerable discussion, last evening approved the principle of a fiveday week for clerical workers i" all departments, but further consideration is to be given the question of hours to be worked on the five days. ; The question was raised by a recommendation brought forward by the chairman of the works committee, Councillor W. Appleton, as follows: That in future officers and clerical staff of the Corporation under the ; control of the works committee be required to work five days a week only, thus permitting the offices of the City Engineer's Department to be closed all day Saturday, and that all other departments of the council be advised to adopt this proposal.

Councillor Appleton said that as far as the works committee was concerned it had been found that as the great bulk of the outside men were working a five-day week there was no specific work for the office staff to do. The suggestion had been made that the office staff should commence at 8.30 a.m. and carry on till 5 p.m., but personally he could not see any reason for that if they could get through by 4.30 p.m. There was no reason why the offices should not be closed on Saturday morning, subject to special requirements, and the works committee, moreover, hod been unanimous uuon the point. ' . "Councillor A. Parlane said that certain overseers had been brought back when, there was nothing- whatever for them to do. GOING TOO QUICKLY.

The Mayor (Mr. T. C. A. Hislop) said that he thought the council should go a little more slowly. The 40-hour week had only been going for seventeen days and he thought that they should wait and see what were the results. There were certain men at the depots who had been called bac£ but found nothing to do, and the City Engineer should be authorised to inquire into such cases. The council had to see that the reasonable requirements of the citizens were met. Jsurely it was not suggested that the Electricity Department should be shut down on Saturday, one of the biggest days o£ the week? The Town Clerk also stated that Saturday morning was one of the busiest periods of the whole week. Councillor Appleton said totacatain instances a skeleton staff might be Mayor: We would be going too far and too quickly to decide tonight that the offices should close on Saturday morning. No Government office is closing on Saturday ™rning. Councillor Appleton: The Government Printing Office is closing. Mr. Hislop replied that that was a factory, but it could not be said that outside workers and office staff 'were so inter-connected that there was nothing for the engineers' staff to do on Saturday morning. He considered that the decision should be deferred until reports had been received from the heads of departments to ascertain what arrangements could be made. i Councillor M. F. Luckie seconded j the Mayor's proposal and remarked that the five-day week for outside workers became a five-day working week as a consequence of the 40-hour week. Already the office staff was working less than 40 hours per week, and for the council to reduce further the hours of office staffs would be to perpetuate the difference in the hours of work which it was one aim of the legislation to remove. A FIRM SUPPORTER.

Councillor R. A. Wright, M.P., said that he very strongly recommended that the five-day week should be supported. It was impossible to have one department working one period and the other departments ahothe*. Saturday morning in the Corporation service meant three.hours of work only.

"The whole position is going to be altered and the public has to adjust itself to the new conditions." said Councillor Wright. "It has to come. The council has decided to make a 40-hour week and it is no use spoiling the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar. People who have business dealings on Saturday morning will have to And some other time. If people do do any great amount of buying on Saturday morning it is because they are paid on the previous day; it may be necessary to alter the pay day. "I am quite against referring this matter back to the committee. We are doing the correct thing and we don't want a skeleton staff if we can possibly help it, for we don't want some people working when others are off. The builders are all closing on Saturday and factories are doing the same. Mr. Hislop: But not the clerical staffs. Councillor Wright: I don't think we should hold up the decision. Mr. Hislop: What about the City Engineer's plans? Councillor Wright: He can do them during the week. THE DAILY HOURS. : Councillor A. Black said that it would be entirely feasible to rearrange the daily hours of work to make up the time. Mr. Hislop repeated that he thought that the council should have more time to look into the question. Councillor Wright: I venture to say that Saturday is going to be a day when little business will be done and we may as well face the fact at once. Councillor L. McKenzie said that he agreed with the Mayor that the proposal went too far. How was the council going to get on about banking money taken up to Friday night? Councillor Wright: Bank up to Friday afternoon. Councillor Black: How do you get on now with money taken on Saturday? Councillor McKenzie said that the council should have reports. from its senior officers. Councillor Butler: To pull strings? Councillor McKenzie: No, not to pull Strings, but to say whether it can be done. SAME OLD ARGUMENTS. Councillor P- M. Butler said that the arguments against this were similar to the arguments against the 40-hour week originally and there was just as much logic in them. There were municipalities which had adopted the 40-hour week. The intention of the Act was a five-day week. The officers he had discussed the matter with suggested an extra half-hour per day in lieu of not working on Saturday morning. Councillor Black said that he did not see that men working in offices should be called upon' to be there when the rest of the community was away enjoying itself. Some of the men concerned had been to him and had told him that they would not mind Working extra time during the week If they could have Saturday morning tff. If it was at all reasonably possible, he thought that the matter •hould be arranged. The Mayor said he quite agreed with

Councillor Black if it was at all reasonably possible, but he thought that reports should first be obtained from the departmental officers to see what could be done to meet the situation. COUNCIL SHOULD DECIDE.

I Councillor H. A. Huggins said he regarded the matter as a policy one on which the council should decide itself. He knew that hundreds of the council's clerical staff would be glad to woric the extra time in lieu of not working on Saturfday morning. If the five-day week became established, as it would be, the public would not suffer; it would be enjoying the five-day week as well. FOR THE STAFF AS A WHOLE. Councillor W. Duncan suggested thai the council should consider the advisability of arranging a five-day week where possible. In reply to the Mayor, Councillor Duncan said that he agreed with Councillor Huggins that it was a policy matter. Councillor Appletpn said he had introduced the five-day week in respect of his own staff ten years ago. He agreed that the council should lay down a policy. The idea of the works committee bringing the matter down was to approve the principle of a fiveday week. Councillor Wright submitted that there was nothing in the report to preclude the council deciding that the employees should work the same number of hours as they were working now in five days. The report referred to days and not hours. Councillor Butler said he thought all the members of the works committee would support Councillor Duncan's suggestion. Councillor W. J. Gaudin said that the idea was that a suggestion should go forth from the works committee to the other departments with a view to the matter being considered. The Mayor said that if the works committee proposal was going through provision should be made to ensibte the council to take into consideration whether additional time should be worked during the five days or not and to enable also consideration to be given to the provision of skeleton staffs being put on where necessary. Councillor Appleton, in reply to the Mayor, said he was prepared to agree to the officers of the clerical staffs under the works committee working five days a week, the question of hours per day to be the subject of a report to the next meeting. The Mayor, in answer to Councillor Butler, said that the five-day week would operate immediately but the hours per day might be altered at the next meeting.