WAGES FIXED

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 149, 21 December 1936, Page 15

WAGES FIXED

BOILERMAKERS' AWARD

MAJORITY DECISION

An award for boilermakers, iron ship, and bridge builders has been made by the Arbitration Court, all matters other than wages, night shifts, overtime rates, employment of boys and youths1,, improvers' rate, and exemptions having been agreed upon in conciliation council. Mr. A. L. Monteith (workers' representative) dissented on the question of wages. The award provides for a 40-hour week on five days. One night shift in each 24 hours is permitted, but work at night for less than three consecutive nights is to be paid for at overtime rates. Three shillings additional is to be paid per shift for night work. Overtime is fixed at time and a hall for the first four hours and- double time thereafter. Wages are to be 2s sijd an hour. The award is to remain in force for one year.' Mr. Monteith stated that he considered .the wages rate should have been fixed at a minimum of 2s 6d. That.rate had been agreed to in various awards. NOT STOREMEN. i The application of the Storemen's and Packers' Union"to have Woolworths (N.Z.) Ltd. and Macdu'ffs Ltd. joined as parties to their award on the ground that storemen and packers were employed in their bulk stores was refused in a majority decision of the Arbitration Court. The Court held that the bulk or reserve stores were reserves for the retail departments, arid consequently they were not retailers. An application to add^National Distributors (N.Z.) Ltd. w&s also, refused, this firm having been added to a retail award in 1930. Mr. Monteith dissented regarding this firm, and stated that as it was admitted that the business was purely wholesale the firm should be added to the. . wholesale award. DRIVERS' HOURS. A judgment of the Arbitration Court, issued today, amends the New Zealand Passenger Transport Drivers' Award, which was made last April, to provide for a shorter working week for drivers. The hours of omnibus drivers have been reduced from 96 to 80 ' per fortnight, and from 52 to 44 as the maximum for any one week. Service-car drivers' hours have been reduced from 96 to 88. and from 52 to 48.